Secret Lovers
by littlerichellemead
Summary: Cato and Clove's untold story. Secret romances, alliances and promises. Alternate ending and two epilogues included. Rated T for language. CLATO.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own the wonderful Hunger Games series. **

**I have had this idea of telling the story of the Careers. We do not know much about them, and this is what I think happened (or I wish had happened lol.) I only focus on my two favorite careers and is based both on the book and the movie. Enjoy, or not, and tell me what you think!**

_Reaping Day_

~ Clove ~

"Clove Soto!" My name rings loud and clear throughout District 2.

It is reaping day for the annual Hunger Games. This is the 74th year, and I had hopes that my name would be called. In the case my name was not the lucky one, I would volunteer and if need be I would fight the chosen girl to the death. However, none of that would be necessary, for my name had been called. I grin as the applause erupts, and I make my way to the stage with strong and confident steps. Once I reach the stage, District 2's escort, whose name I had never bothered to learn, extends his hand out to me to help me up the steps. Keeping my head up, I ignore him. This is being televised, and I do not want to appear weak. As I stand to the escort's left, he grabs my right hand and shouts.

"Clove Soto!" Applause and shouting from my close friends and family ring in my ears. "Our first tribute!"

I grin widely and look over the group of boys waiting to be chosen. I make eye contact with as many as possible and try to tell them with my own eyes that I will be the victor. Once the applause dies down and the escort lets go of my hand, he approaches the microphone again.

"And now for our boy tribute," he make his way to the urn that keeps the names of all the qualifying boys. Just as he reaches down for a name, a voice speaks from the crowd.

"I volunteer as Tribute!" I keep my face neutral as a blond, tall and muscular boy of sixteen years old steps forward. Applause erupts once again as the boy makes his way to the stage.

"Well, this is fantastic! We have a volunteer!" The escort pulls the boy close. "What's your name my boy?"

"Cato King," he replies smiling at the crowd. "And I am going to win!"

He glances at me and winks. I roll my eyes and turn to face the crowd once again. The escort begins to read the Treaty of Treason, but I am not paying attention. I think of this boy, Cato. I think of how I'm going to have to kill him. Suddenly, the escort pulls me to face the boy.

"Shake hands and show good sportsmanship," the escort smiles at me.

Cato immediately extends his hand out. I stare at his hand for a nanosecond and then I extend my own hand out. I barely touch him when I pull my hand back out and ignore him once again.

"Ladies and gentleman, I give you this year's District 2 Tributes!" The escort shouts and pulls our hands up. He then turns to us and says, "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!"

After that, Cato and I are escorted inside the Justice Building. We are split off in different directions. Before he disappears Cato flashes me a grin and a wink much like out in the stage. I turn my head away from him. The Peacekeepers open the door to a big and opulent sitting room. I go inside and turn to the Peacekeepers.

"Wait here," one of them says as they close the door. "Family and friends will be allowed in for a couple of minutes."

I nod and sit on one of the rich and plush chairs. I grab one of the books sitting nearby trying to distract myself from the recent events. It all had gone well. I am a tribute, but my counterpart had been unexpected. I knew Cato. I trained with him all my life.

~ Cato ~

Her name being called pushed me to volunteer. I pace the room I am forced to stay and wait for familiars to come see me. I don't want to see any of them. I want to see _her_. I need to speak to her.

"No," I whisper staring out into the street. "She is my enemy now."

I run my hands through my hair. I shouldn't have volunteered. Now she is going to die, and I have to win. There's nothing I can do now. I volunteered because at the moment she was called to be the tribute all I could think was to protect her. I chuckle. She doesn't need protection; she has always been great at the training sessions. I am only going to end up killing her in the end. The only thing I can do is make sure she reaches the end only to die by my hand.

My thoughts and plans are interrupted by the door suddenly opening. My family is here to see me. I sigh. Clove is whom I want to see.

~ Clove ~

After I say goodbye to my family, my aunt Enobaria, who will act as my mentor for the games, comes to get me. Before we leave, she pulls me aside.

"Clove," she begins. "You need to keep your head in the game."

I nod. "I know Aunt Enobaria."

"Do you?" She raises one eyebrow to emphasize her skepticism. "I know you and that boy are involved."

"We were," I reassure her. "Once my name was called and he volunteered, we were done."

She looks at me trying to decode my emotions. I keep my face neutral. I know I am not lying. Cato will be literally dead to me soon. Enobaria hugs me and startles me. She has never been affectionate. I hug her back awkwardly. We stay in the embrace for a couple of seconds then she pulls back while still keeping her hands on my shoulders.

"I know Brutus will take a liking to the boy," she begins with a smile. "But because you are my niece I have to favorite you. You go out there, and you win!"

"I will Aunt Enobaria," I smile back at her with confidence.

She leads me to the back exit of the Justice Building. Out there we meet Cato, Brutus and our escort. We board a car that will take us to the train and from there to the Capitol.

_The Train _

~ Cato ~

On the train, we sit by the fire and watch the reaping of the other districts. I look sideways at Clove sitting to my right. She is sitting with a cup of chocolate in her hands. She watches intently at the reaping of District 12. The name of the girl is called. She is a young girl of twelve years old, but an older one steps forward and volunteers. I yawn loudly, and Clove turns to me with a frown. I wink at her, and she scowls turning back to the television. I frown slightly, but I recover quickly. I get up from the couch and walk away without a word.

I open up a compartment that leads to a room with a big window showing the scenery as we travel. I sit in one of the only two chairs in the room. I ponder what has happened since we boarded the train. Clove has ignored me and treated me with contempt since the beginning of the trip. I can only assume that all we shared before the reaping was a lie to her. I roll my eyes. How stupid can I be? From now on, Clove and I are nothing but tributes from District 2. We are to severe any ties we have with each other, and she was doing just that. All that matters from now on is to win.

The door to the compartment opens and in walks Brutus, my mentor. He sits next to me and hands me a glass of wine. I frown.

"I figure we ought to celebrate your 'bravery,'" he says without much excitement. "Did you volunteer to help the girl?"

I am taken aback. How did he figure it out? I knew a part of me had volunteered to help Clove and the other reason was to, well, win. I don't respond to his question. I simply down the wine. He looks at me and smiles.

"Ah young love," then he turns serious and grabs my face. I push him away and stand up. "You better keep your head in the game boy. Unless you want to die, and trust me, I know you don't. District 2 is not known for sacrifice. Leave that to the other weak districts like 12. They are disgusting. I'd like it very much if you'd win. Understood?"

"You are not the boss of me," I growl. "But I know what I need to do. I know what I want and that is to win."

"Good," Brutus drinks his wine and then leaves me.

I sit back on the chair and look at the passing scenery. Yes, I will do what I need to do to win. Even if it means ripping my heart out.

~ Clove ~

"Good job," Enobaria claps as I hit my target again. "Who was your trainer?"

"Deema," I say out of breath. "She trained me in knife throwing, and Grant taught me hand to hand combat and boxing."

"Perfect," she smiles as she retrieves the knives from the table that had been turned upright to practice.

After watching the reaping of the other districts, Enobaria suggested she see me use my abilities. She had cleared a table and turned it upright against a wall. Using kitchen knives, I had thrown them at the table. She had marked the places she wanted me to hit, and I had not missed a single one. She sets the knives down on a nearby table and pours me a glass of water. Once she hands it to me, I drink thirstily. She stares at me as I drink.

"Did you always train with the boy?" She asks finally.

"Cato," I say stopping mid drink. "And no. Not always. He trained with Kendall in sword fighting and archery. Since we both trained with Grant for hand to hand combat, we sometimes practiced together."

"Good," she nods. "At least he does not know all your strengths and weaknesses."

I drink more water avoiding any more conversation on the topic of Cato and me. It hurts to think that yesterday had been normal. We had met early in the morning to practice combat, gone to school, had lunch together, and after school we had gone to practice more. Hell, early this morning I had told him I would volunteer this year.

"You will win," he had said tucking a loose hair behind my ear. "You can beat all the other districts and return to me as a victor."

I smiled at him. "And next year you would be the victor."

He nodded and kissed my forehead. But everything had gone to hell. Our plans of me participating this year and winning. He would volunteer the next year and win. We both could have been victors, but now only one of us would survive.

"Clove!" Enobaria shouts bringing me back from the past. "You are bleeding."

I look at my left hand and notice I gripped the glass too tightly and had shattered it. I grab a napkin from a nearby table and cover my wound.

"I will go get a first aid kit," Enobaria rushes out of the room.

I nod and sit on a chair. I remove the napkin and look at my wound. I shrug; I am not badly injured. Just a couple of scrapes and cuts from the glass. I sigh and look around the room. The door opens.

"I'm fine Aunt Enobaria," I say turning around but suddenly stop when I realize it's Cato. "Oh, it's you." I turn away from him.

"Yeah, it's me." He sits in front of me. "What happened?"

"Nothing." I reply curtly.

He grunts and grabs my injured hand. It is the first time we touch since barely shaking our hands at the reaping. A warmth travels up my hand to the rest of my body. I shake it off and try to pull my hand back, but he grips it tightly.

"This doesn't look like nothing." He says as he grabs another napkin and cleans the blood. "How did you do this?"

"I broke the glass with my hand. It's nothing." I say trying to pull my hand back once again.

"Best be careful," he says finally letting of my hand. "I don't want you killing yourself before going into the arena. It wouldn't be fun without you." He winks.

"I wouldn't count on it if I were you." I reply growling and standing up, and he does too. Unfortunately he is a foot taller than me, so it is hard to look menacing.

I shove him away with my fists, but he doesn't sway. Instead, he grabs my fists and pulls me closer.

"Let go!" I shout breathless. "You are not supposed to touch me until the arena."

He ignores me and leans down. He crushes my lips with his and kisses me like he had done this morning before the reaping. However in this kiss, there's desperation and pain with the sweet and familiar feeling of love and caring. We kiss for what seems like forever, but it's really a couple of seconds. He pushes me back down on the chair and leans down to my eye level.

"From now on," his face shows no emotion. "We are only allies." He leaves the room abruptly.

My heart is still racing when Enobaria returns with a cream in her hands. I look away from her and check my face in a silver platter nearby. There are no emotions showing, but I know that inside, I am a wreck.

~ Cato ~

I don't know what possessed me to kiss her. I shouldn't even have talked to her. I am in my room pacing once again. I made the mistake of kissing her when I had decided to cut all feelings I had for her.

"A goodbye kiss," I say to myself. I laugh at my own stupidity and weakness. "I have to clean up my act. I am Cato King. I am strong, fearless, and feared. I am going to win no matter what."

A knock on my door interrupts my soliloquy. I open it and find Brutus on the hall. I scowl at him.

"What?" I grunt.

"We are here." He says and turns around. I follow after him. I find Clove looking at the window smiling and waving. Her smile has always been one of my favorite features about her, after her soft pink lips. I shake my head and stand next to her.

"The Capitol," I say taking in the sight of the greatness of The Capitol and its richness opulence. The train is slowing down for the crowd to see us slightly better.

"Smile, wave, scowl, do something boy," Brutus suggests.

I give the crowd by best cocky smile, and I wink at a couple of cute girls. The train stops and Clove, Enobaria, Brutus, our escort and I move to the exit.

"Ready?" Our escort asks Clove and me cheerfully. We nod. "Let the show begin."

He pushes us out as the door opens, and we are blinded by the flashes of the cameras and The Capitol.

_The Capitol_

~ Clove ~

We are taken through the crowd yelling our names and the reporters asking us questions. A couple of minutes later, we are led to the Remake Center where we are to be made beautiful. This is my least favorite part of the games. They try to make us beautiful when we should be practicing our abilities to further our chances. I sigh and allow my stylists to do away with me. Thankfully, my family is wealthy, so I had received beauty treatments from The Capitol before. None of this was new, and there was not much for the stylists to do.

My hair is completely stripped of any curls and is now completely straight and down to my waist. They give me golden streaks and pull my hair in a low, sideways pony tail. Constance, my make-up artist, puts gold eye shadow with glitter. My lips, luckily, are not covered with gold lipstick. Instead Constance puts on me red lipstick. She gives me a robe and leaves the room. She and her team had been quiet throughout their work. I shrug and wait for whatever is next. I am reading a magazine when the door opens and Cato walks in followed by a short man and a round woman.

I notice Cato has not changed much. I guess they want to keep him the same since he is already gorgeous. I blush slightly and cover it by hiding behind the magazine. I did see though that his hair was blonder and shorter. He leaned back on the wall and waited for the short man to speak.

"All right," the man begins with his Capitol accent. "We have to discuss the matter of your outfit for the opening ceremonies tonight. Since your district is well known for its masonry, we have to incorporate that into your outfit." The man stops and motions for the woman to continue.

"We thought this year we could back in time." She says giddily. "To the Roman Empire and its gods…"

"What does that have to do with masonry," Cato interrupts.

I roll my eyes. "The Romans are well known for their architecture using stone." I turn to the woman who is looking proudly at me for understanding her theme. "Forgive him; he has never been too bright. Continue."

I smile satisfied at Cato, who is red as a tomato. "Anyway," the man interrupts clearly bored with us. "We will dress you as Roman gods."

Fitting, I think to myself.

~ Cato ~

Our outfit consists of armor. A golden armor to be exact. On my head is a silly winged hat. I do like the way the armor shows off my muscles though. I wait by the horses for the round woman to come with Clove. When she finally arrives, I can't help but take in a deep breath. Clove looks beautiful in a golden long dress that brings out the slight tan tone of her skin. Her dark hair has streaks of gold and her green eyes are brought out by black eyeliner and golden eye shadow. She truly looks like a goddess.

She stands next to me and her stylist places the final touches. She places the armor on Clove's small frame and her own winged hat. Unsatisfied, the woman lets Clove's hair loose from the bun. It flows in slight curls down to her waist. I turn away from her for fear I'll run to her and crush her to me.

"All right," my stylist approaches. "Get on the carriage. I want you two to wave, but don't smile-"

"You must look solemn." The woman interrupts. "Look godlike."

"How are we supposed to know what godlike is?" I ask frowning.

"Just don't smile and wave like this," Clove says and grabs my hand and moves it like her own in a stiff wave.

I nod and pull my hand away. I turn to watch the other tributes. The girl from District 1 is in front of us wearing a feathery pink and purple outfit. She sees me watching her, and she winks. I give her a flirty grin and turn once again. In that moment my eyes are wandering, I see the girl from District 12 walk by dressed in a black outfit. I glare at her, and she looks hastily away. I smirk as I turn back to Clove.

"What are you smiling about?" She asks frowning.

"Nothing," I shrug. "Just terrorizing some tributes."

"Right," she turns to face the front. "And flirting with the others."

Before I can say something, music begins to play and the front carriage moves. Our stylists shout last minute advises. And the parade begins.

~ Clove ~

As the carriage begins to move, I do as my stylist told me. I wave solemnly and don't smile. I take on a regal air, and I almost believe I am truly a goddess. The crowd goes wild and for a second I feel it's because of us. However, Cato nudges me and with his head points toward the many screens. What I see is not to my liking at all. I see the tributes from District 12 on fire looking powerful and truly regal like fire gods. I narrow my eyes and memorize the face of the girl from that district. She will go down first. No, the girl from District 1 is going down first, then District 12. I turn to the crowd and wave until our chariots stop in the City Circle in front of President Snow's balcony.

His speech drags on a little longer than I like. I stare ahead and try to look as if I am truly engaged in his words. After a while our chariots begin moving again and we are taken into the training center. I step off the chariot angrily and remove my stupid hat and armor and throw it at my stylists. I glared at District 12 and stomp away.

Inside my quarters, I cry. I cry because I am angry at my incompetent team of stylists that allowed us to be outshined by the weak and disgusting District 12. I cry because I am crying. I should not be crying and knowing that I'm doing exactly that makes me cry harder. The door opens abruptly, and I stand up wiping my tears away. Cato stands by the door, and I turn my back to him. I wipe the moisture completely off of my face.

"What do you want?" I snap. "Don't you knock?" I turn and find myself face to chest with Cato.

He pulls me into his arms. I stand with my hands limply at my sides as he hugs me. I surprise myself and him too when I hug him back. I grip his shirt and allow more tears to flow. He leads me to one of the chairs and sits me on his lap. He pulls my hair to the side and with his hand he gently wipes my tears away.

"Aren't you going to ask me why I'm crying?" I ask after both of us looking into each other's eyes in silence.

"I know why," he gives me his lopsided grin that is usually reserved for me. "You are angry at being outshined by District 12."

I nod. "We are stronger than they are Cato," I begin whiningly. "We are better. The sponsors might like them better after tonight."

"Don't you worry about that," he kisses my forehead. "We don't need sponsors. We will get rid almost all tributes within minutes of the game. The rest will pick off one by one. I promise you Clove, we will kill them all. I will kill District 12 for you."

"Really?" I smile. "Promise?"

"I do." He pulls my face down, and just before our lips touch, he jumps up and away from me. "Hmm, good night." He leaves me standing in the middle of the room dumbfounded and aching for him.

~ Cato ~

Once again, I made the mistake of being too close to Clove. But I couldn't just go to my quarters after hearing her cry. I saw how angry she had been after the parade; she hates being second at anything and District 12 had definitely placed us in second. I was making my way to my room when I passed hers and heard her crying. It hurt my chest to think of anything or anyone hurting Clove. I burst inside without much thought and took her into my arms. I was close to kissing her when I realized I was not doing a good job at letting her go and cutting all ties.

In my own quarters, I am undressing when someone knocks on my door. I put on the silk pajamas and open the door. Enobaria stands in the hall way. Without a word she walks in and closes the door.

"You need to let go of her," she says.

"What are you talking about?" I am taken aback first that she is here.

"Clove," she shoves me against the wall. "Whatever plan you and Brutus have, you are not using my niece for it. You may think to use her feelings for you to lure her into a sense of security and then kill her. I will not allow it. I know Seneca Crane, the game maker, and I could convince him to get rid of you. Stay away from Clove. Understood?"

She makes her way to the door without waiting for an answer. As she opens the door, I lunge forward and close it again.

"I don't want to hurt her." I advance towards her. "I shouldn't be in this year's game. We had plans. She was going to volunteer this year, but her name was called. I was to wait until next year. We were both going to be victors, but I screwed up. I panicked when I saw her up in the stage. My Clove fighting for her life may very well not return. I had to do something. I volunteered because I love her."

I explained my reasons without taking a breath. Enobaria stares at me; she grabs my face in her hands and says, "Then don't let her die. Be the leader of the alliance. Be the ruthless tribute and make them all go after you. Protect her and take her to victory."

I chuckle. "You think she needs my help?" I pull away. "She is strong. She is the best at throwing knives, and she always kicked my ass in combat."

Enobaria nods. "Yes, but one never knows. In the games, something can happen. I'm not losing my only niece to the Capitol."

I look up at the ceiling. I don't want to die. It's like Brutus said, District 2 is not known for its sacrifice. We only think of ourselves. I sigh. I value her life more. She can win and return home though I won't be there, she will be. She can live a happy life for the rest of her life. As much as it pained me to never see her again, I nod at Enobaria.

"I'll do anything and everything I can." I sit on a chair. "But no one must know about this. Clove won't accept this, and the Capitol won't either."

"I know," Enobaria says as she moves to the door. "Like I told you, be the ruthless and merciless tribute of them all. Hide all your emotions and push her away. Your death will hurt her deeply, but if she thinks you no longer love her, she'll be able to move on."

I stand angrily. "I am not-" I don't finish my sentence because Enobaria is gone. How can I leave this world letting the love of my life think I didn't love her? But I see it is necessary. I know what I want, and that is for Clove to win. I will do whatever needs to be done for her to win.

**I hoped you liked this so far! Next chapter is the training, interviews and games. I might make the games a separate chapter will see how long it is. This is a short story by the way. I am not doing like an entire novel. Anyway, I hope you like it! Review or PM me any comments. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Tragically enough, I do not own The Hunger Games, but I do own Peeta Mellark ;) JK! *sob***

**What am I doing? I have started yet another story when I have two unfinished stories. Shame on me! Hopefully though, I'll finish this short story in a couple of days. Anyway, here we go! ****Warning****: somewhat mature content. Read at your own risk. ;) **

_The Training _

~ Clove ~

I wake up early. Today, we have the first of three training sessions. I get up and find clothes that had been laid out for me. A dark latex outfit with my district number on the back. I shower and put on my clothes. I pull up my hair in a high ponytail and walk out of my room. In the dining room I see I am the first one up, so I sit at the table. Grabbing a book nearby, I read waiting for the others to get up. The sound of the door opening makes me look up and find Cato walking in. I smile, and he stops abruptly.

"Good morning Cato," I say cheerfully.

After last night, I realized Cato cared too much for me. I had been angry at him for volunteering messing up our plans, and I knew he had to die if I wanted to win. However, I decided last night that I would let him win. I can sacrifice my life for him, but he doesn't need to know that or the Capitol. I pat the seat next to me wanting him to be near me.

However, he grunts by way of greeting and seats as far away from me as possible. I frown and stand up. I sit next to him, and he changes seat once again.

"Something wrong Cato?" I ask angrily.

"No," he replies grabbing a croissant from the many trays. "Something wrong Clove?"

"You are acting weird," I sigh. "Just last night you showed me…" I trail off.

"I showed you what?" He bites his croissant and looks at me innocently. "That I cared? That I still loved you?" He snorts mocking me.

"You are toying with me aren't you?" I narrow my eyes and grab a nearby knife. "You want to lure me into trusting you, so you kill me easily right?" I point the knife at him, and he shrugs as response. "I won't give you that Cato. I will win. I will kill you when the time comes." I throw the knife at him just as the door opens and everyone walks in. Cato ducks and the knife misses him by an inch.

"Clove!" The escort yells. "What are you doing?"

"Don't mess with me you piece of worthless shit!" I yell at Cato and run from the room.

"Clove," Enobaria knocks on my door after a while of my outburst. "You need to eat. You need energy for today."

"I'm not hungry." I say without opening the door.

"Come on open," Enobaria begs. "Don't make me break the door."

I sigh and get up from my bed. I open the door and let Enobaria in with an Avox girl trailing behind her. The girl sets the tray of food in the bed and walks out. I stare at the food.

"Eat," Enobaria commands.

I sigh again and grab the nearest thing on the tray and munch on it without really tasting it. I keep my sight away from Enobaria not wanting to see the questioning and angry look on her face.

"What happened earlier." She doesn't ask me. She demands an explanation.

I tell her. "You see how he is using me?" I throw the food on the floor and stand up by the window looking out into the Capitol. "But I won't let him use me. I will win. I know we have to form an alliance, but when the time comes, and it is just he and I standing, I will drive my knife through his heart. I will rip his throat out with my teeth just like you did Aunt Enobaria. No one makes a fool out of Clove Soto." I end up sobbing in anger.

I fear Enobaria will scream at me for crying, but she surprises me by hugging me. I hug her and swallow more tears. She pats my head and kisses my forehead before letting go of me.

"I advise you that you forget about him. There's no place for love in the Hunger Games, not if you want to win. Love will make you weak, Clove. The weak ones don't fare well in these games. You have the right idea. The alliance with District 1 and 4 will get you far, but when the time comes, do not hesitate."

I nod and take all of Enobaria's words in. I memorize every single one of her words, and I feel determined to kill Cato when his time comes. I will be the victor.

~ Cato ~

"She tried to kill you," Brutus laughs. "She's feisty just like her Aunt."

I pace angrily near the elevator as Brutus and I wait for Enobaria to bring Clove out of her room. Brutus had not let go of the incident from earlier. I am about to go over to Clove's room and drag her out when she and Enobaria join us. She doesn't look at me, but she greets Brutus with a smile. I groan internally. I just want to hug her and make it better. I do not want to fight with her, but it is all necessary.

We step onto the elevator, and it takes us down below the ground floor where the training sessions will be held. On the way there, Clove turns to me.

"So Cato," she begins politely. "I was thinking we should show them right out the back to not mess with us, so we show them our strengths."

"No," Enobaria interrupts. "Don't show them everything. Save your strengths for the private session with the game makers."

"Go ahead and show them," Brutus contradicts Enobaria. "They will see what you can do in the arena anyway; you might as well make them shit their pants." He laughs and nudges me to join him.

I sigh. "I think we should show them what we are made of."

"Suit yourself," says Enobaria. "Clove, reserve some of your strongest abilities for the game makers." The elevator opens to reveal the training room. "Both of you try to learn something you don't already know." She pushes us out into the gymnasium.

Clove strides towards the center circle where a couple of the other tributes are already standing. I notice District 1 talking with District 4. I make my way to them knowing it is time to assert myself as the leader.

"I'm Clove Soto," I hear Clove introduce herself with politeness but a dangerous smile on her lips.

"I'm Marvel, and that is Glimmer," he points to the girl who is staring at me.

"Cato King," I extend my hand flexing my muscles, and I briefly wink at the girl. "Say we partner up in the games." I turn to the small boy and girl of District 4. "We'll even take you in." I scowl at the weaklings District 4 produced this year.

The elevator opens and out walks District 12. Clove and I cross our arms at the same time and glare at them. I give both tributes a mocking grin. The training master then steps up. A dark skinned woman whose name I ignore. She gives a small speech about the stations, schedule blah. I let my eyes wonder to Clove. She is taking in all that the head trainer is saying. I move on knowing I won't resist looking at her and not being able to touch her. I turn to my left and see the girl from District 1 staring at me completely and blatantly ignoring what the trainer is saying. I give her a smile and a nod in her direction before moving on with my inspection. Just then my eyes rest on the girl from 12. Her eyes are wide in fear. I smirk and flex my muscles. She turns away just as the trainer sets us loose.

I make my way to the swords and notice Clove going to the knives obviously. She touches them with her fingertips and closes her eyes. She missed practice as did I. I wonder if she misses us. My mind begins to wonder to a couple of weeks before the reaping. She stayed longer to practice hard and long for the games. I had stayed behind with her just because I liked spending time with her. I already knew she would volunteer, and I was just waiting for her to tell me. She was, as always, throwing knives at a dummy. She hit the mark every single time, and I clapped. She turned to me genuinely surprised to find me around so late.

"Cato," she grinned at me. "What are you doing here?"

I shrugged. "I was on my way home, when I noticed the lights were still on. I didn't expect to find you here little one." I said playfully. "I tell you what, I will stay and help you practice."

"What about your parents?" She asked raising an eyebrow.

"Out in The Capitol," I dropped my bag and positioned myself to fight her. "Come at me little one."

She chuckled and then turned serious. "You will stop calling me little one." She launched herself at me. We grunted as we tried to tackle each other to the ground. She was fast and strong for her size. She managed to pin me to the ground. Sweaty and breathing heavy, I laid on the floor with her straddling me and a knife at my throat.

"What did I tell you?" She grinned. "You will not call me little one again."

"Not fair," I chuckled. "You had that knife hidden."

"Yup," she threw the knife aside and leaned down to kiss me.

I bit her lip, and she moaned. Gripping my shirt she pulled me up. I sat on the ground with her still on my lap, her legs spread apart. I pulled away and looked into her green eyes. I caressed her face, and she closed her eyes at my touch.

"Let your hair down," I whispered. She did as I told her. "You're beautiful Clove Soto."

"You're not so bad yourself," she said with an angelic smile on her lips.

I ran my hands through her hair and pulled her down to kiss her again. After a while of passionately kissing, she pulled away.

"I'm ready," she took of her shirt.

I nodded and took off my own shirt, then her pants, mine, her underwear, and lastly mine. Using my brute strength, I stood up and carried her in my arms to the table. I removed all knives from the table and placed her on top of it. As we became one, I realized I was her first. Knowing that, I felt the luckiest man on Panem, but I also felt like scum knowing she wasn't my first. I consoled myself thinking that if I didn't know what I was doing, I could have hurt her. Knowing what I was doing, I made sure to give her the outmost pleasure. Her cries of happiness reassured me that I was doing well, and for that I was thankful. That night, I made her mine and I became hers. I wonder if she remembers.

~ Clove ~

Touching the knives with my fingertips fills part of the void in my chest that Cato has caused. I open my eyes and see the table with knives waiting, calling me. For a second, I am taken back to the night I gave myself to Cato and how he took me on a table like this. I shake my head and grab the knives in my hands. I throw them at the dummies forty feet away from me. I hit two in the forehead, one in the stomach, and three right in the heart. I smile satisfied and look around me. Several tributes had stopped their activities and watched me throw my knives. I seek out the girl from District 12 and give her a dangerous smile. I move on to another station. On my way to the climbing station, I pass Cato.

He is holding his sword and is looking at me with awe and admiration. I pass by him slowly keeping my face emotionless. Without much struggle, I learn to climb the rope course. I fall a couple of times on my ass, but I return to angrily climb the ropes. Unlike the boy from District 12 who falls over and over again. I roll my eyes and laugh. Moving on to another station, I notice Cato is now throwing spears at dummies fifty feet away from him and managing to hit the heart. A small smile plays on my lips and for a second I forget where we are.

I make my way to him to congratulate him much like I did back home when we trained together. I stop in my tracks when Glimmer approaches him and runs her hands up Cato's back. She says something to him, and he nods. He gives her a spear and seems to be giving her some pointers. At first, I think how stupid. He is helping the competition. Second, I feel jealousy course through my body. Nearby I spot the bow and arrows. I feel tempted to try using one for the first time. I could practice on Glimmer. I snap out of it when I hear a thud. I turn to see the boy from 12 has fallen once again from the very top of the rope course. I make a stupid decision then. I approach the boy.

"You're making a fool out of yourself," I say to him as I extend my hand out. He hesitates. "I won't bite you, yet." I grin. "I'm Clove."

He takes my hand and stands up. "Peeta Mellark." He says and looks at the ropes and seems determined to go try again. I tap him on the shoulder and shake my head. He frowns.

"See them," I point to Marvel, Glimmer, and Cato who are watching us with smirks on their faces. "They think you're a joke. If I were you, I would try something I am more adept at. In the case you have no abilities, well then you're screwed."

I leave and glance back at him. I see the girl from his district approach him and say something to him. I send a death glare at the girl and turn away. Standing next to Cato, we watch as Peeta approaches the weightlifting station. He picks up a big and heavy looking ball. He seems to struggle to move it. Cato laughs and the others follow suit. I chuckle a little at the boy's stupidity. I told him to do something he was capable of doing not make more of a fool of himself. However, I swallow my chuckle when he throws the ball over his head with ease and throws it at the spears making them spill everywhere with a loud and deafening cling.

My smile fades, and I glare at the boy. He turns and sees me glaring; he nods in my direction. I nod back and turn away. Cato grabs my arm just as I am about to make my way to the Gauntlet. I turn to him and give him a furious look.

"Get your hands off of me." I growl.

He lets go after hesitating for a while. I walk away, and he follows.

"What are you doing?" He asks blocking my way.

"What are you talking about?" I take a few steps back not wanting to be close to him.

"You know what I'm talking about." He steps forward closing the distance again. "You're fraternizing with the enemy. I saw you."

"Me?" I step back again. "You were giving pointers to Glimmer on how to use spears! You're a hypocrite."

"It's not the same." He steps forward and corners me against the wall and places his hands on either side of my head. "She is a Career Tribute like us. That boy from 12 is nothing."

"Don't lecture me Cato," I look around for an exit. "I do what I please, now let me go. People are looking at us."

"I don't care," he says, and I see the training leader approach us. "Listen-"

"Hey!" Atala shouts. "Don't hurt her!"

Cato's jaw locks and looks as if he has just been insulted. "I wouldn't-" He sighs and moves away from me. "We'll talk later. Enobaria will hear about this too."

"Don't you dare Cato!" I shout at his back. I run at him and climb on his back. I have him on a choke hold when several trainers approach us and pull me away. "I'm going to kill you!" I shout before they take me out of the room.

Atala shoves me in a room and locks the door. I hit the wall with my fists and scream in frustration. A few minutes later, the door opens, and I make my way to the door ready to leave. However, Enobaria and Brutus walk in. Silence settles between us.

"Well," Brutus begins. "At least they know not to mess with you. Now they know you're crazy." He laughs.

"Shut up," Enobaria snaps. "Don't lose it Clove. Save it for the arena."

I nod, and she turns to leave. I follow her out and back into the Training Center.

~ Cato ~

Clove returns just in time for the game makers' evaluation. They walk around the elevated high stands with notepads and scribbling a few notes here and there. I show off my sword fighting ability. I touch the training leader I am sparring with on the marked spot. Hypothetically, he is dead, and I win. I move on to the knife throwing station on purpose when I see Clove making her way there. She grabs her knives and calmly throws them at the dummies. I approach her carefully. While she looks composed, she can snap any minute. Inside her petite and curvaceous figure lays a tornado ready to destroy.

"Impressive," I say in a detached voice. I know full well what she is capable of.

"Stay away from me," she says back grabbing more knives. "You don't want me to snap."

"No," I smile. "I don't. You're dangerous, little one."

Her body goes rigid at my use of her nick name. She recovers and throws more knives. She yawns and moves on to the combat station. I follow her. She stops and turns to face me. She frowns. I step closer. I see the training leader and other tributes watching us closely. I step away from her and go over to the archery station and join Glimmer.

Lunch comes around soon. Us, Career Tributes sit on a table apart from all the other inferior tributes. Most of the other tributes sit by themselves except for District 12. Both sit together and very close to each other. They laugh loudly and look to be enjoying themselves. I catch Clove throwing death glares at Glimmer and the girl from 12. I hide my smile by biting on my turkey leg. I can tell jealousy is eating my little Clove up.

The next days are much of the same. We train. We show off. We eat. We sleep. We repeat. By the third day, we are called one by one to meet with the game makers and show off our abilities individually. When Glimmer's name is called, she runs her hand up my arm and winks. She disappears behind the door. I grin despite myself, and I hear someone growl. I look behind me and find Clove standing there glaring at the door where Glimmer disappeared in. It is like she is trying to burn a whole through the iron door and burn Glimmer as well. I chuckle and sit on the bench.

"Relax," I say to her. "Save it for the arena."

"I'm sure you'll protect her." She sits next to me and crosses her arms.

"I will keep her around until her time comes," I try reassuring her she's the only one I see. "She can be useful."

"Right," she laughs bitterly. "Since you couldn't use me, you're using her. Very clever Cato." She leans over and whispers in my ear sending shivers through my body. "I will kill her first. I will cut her open and pull out her entrails." Her words turn me on, which says a lot about my sadistic nature. She brushes her lips along my earlobe, and I go harder.

"Cato King!" I am called next. Great. Now I have to stand up with a boner. I run inside hoping Clove doesn't see me trying to cover up. Her laugh tells me I did not do a good job.

Inside, I do my thing trying to ignore Clove's words and thinking of things I want to do to her. I throw spears at a longer distance: sixty feet. I hit them in the chest. I grab two swords and run at the dummies closer to me. As I run, I hit the dummies to my left and right. I behead a couple, severe their "limbs," and drive my sword right through them.

Focusing on fighting and imagining real bodies being cut open and blood being spilled makes me forget about Clove. When I'm done, a couple of the game makers clap and shout their approval. I give them my cocky grin and wait for their dismissal.

"You're done," Seneca Crane says. "Thank you for your demonstration."

I walk out happily knowing they will give me a high score.

~ Clove ~

Cato's named is called, and I silently wish him good luck. I giggle when I see him covering his crotch. I keep giggling even when the door closes. I earn a couple of stares from the other tributes, but I ignore them. Suddenly, I think why would I turn him on if he was no longer interested? I don't have much time to ponder the possibility that he may be acting as he does not care so when he kills me, it doesn't hurt him much or vice versa. What if he wanted me to win and –

"Clove Soto!" I stand up automatically and walk through the door.

All thoughts of Cato fly out of my head. I focus on my task ahead: to earn the highest score possible and outshine all the other tributes. I walk in with confidence knowing that I am an expert at throwing knives, and I will be able to kill half the tributes from a distance. I go straight for the knife station. I grab a couple of them. I see they have moved the dummies farther, at least sixty feet. I shrug and position myself.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath; I throw the first knife aiming at the dummy's forehead. I hit it. The second knife goes to the dummy's crotch. The third, I hit the heart. I grab more knives and send them flying at the next dummy all the same time. They hit the throat, chest, and stomach successively. I smile satisfied. I move on the dummies that are closer to me. They can be turned on to act as real humans. They are accessorized with mazes, swords and spears.

I grab a belt and load it with knives. I nod at the nearby trainer, and he turns the dummies on. They attack me. I crouch and with the knife, I open its stomach open in a vertical line. I picture Glimmer's entrails falling on the ground. I stand up and drive my second knife on the dummy's neck. The third, I hit right on the skull and drive my knife all the way inside it. I imagine all the dummies are Glimmer and the tributes from 12. By the time I'm done, I am panting and sweating profusely. I give a slight bow of my head at the game makers. A lot of them clap and shout. They dismiss me. I grin hugely as I enter our floor. I have definitely outshined all the other tributes.

~ Cato ~

Clove dances her way into the dining room. We are all sitting waiting for her to eat. She smiles widely at every one even me. I smile back genuinely happy to see her this joyful.

"Why are you so happy little one," I say forgetting the people around us. "Did you kill someone on your way here?"

She throws her head back and laughs. Her laughter wraps around me, and I revel in the sound of it. "No, you silly," she says sitting between Enobaria who is glaring at me. "I just have a feeling I did really well tonight."

"Of course you did," Enobaria turns to Clove and kicks me under the table. "You are fantastic."

Clove grins and begins eating with a great appetite. After dinner, both Clove and I make our way to our rooms to shower and change into clean clothes to watch the scores. She goes into her room after glancing at me and smiling briefly.

Later we all sit and watch Caesar Flickerman come on the television and cuts to the interesting part: the scores. I turn to meet Clove's eyes. She smiles confidently at me, and I can't help but smile back and nod. I turn back to the television. Marvel's photo comes up on the screen.

"Marvel from District 1," Caesar says cheerfully. "Nine!"

Clove and I shrug at the same time. Glimmer's face comes next. I turn to Clove to watch her expression, but she still has the confident and happy smile on her face.

"Beautiful Glimmer," Caesar looks down at the paper on his hands. "A nine as well! Well done!"

Clove's smile falters for a second, but she soon recovers that I don't think anyone but me noticed.

"Cato King, the big handsome boy from District 2," Caesar draws my attention back to the screen. "Oh this is good," he grins prolonging the excitement. "Ten!"

I smile widely as everyone claps briefly before Clove's face flashes on the screen. I hush everyone.

"Another beauty, Clove Soto," right you are Caesar. "A dangerous beauty!" He says as his eyes flicker to the paper on his hands. "A ten! Bravo District 2!"

We all stand up and cheer. Clove surprises me by jumping into my arms and hugging me tightly. I hug her to me and take in her scent. I close my eyes and forget the world for a couple of seconds, but they are precious seconds I treasure. She lets go of me and looks up at me with joy written in her face.

"We did it!" She shouts. "We outshone them! They know better than to mess with us! We are sure to get all the sponsors!"

I open my mouth to say something, but Enobaria cuts me short and pulls Clove away.

"All right," she says sitting Clove down. "Don't get cocky yet, let's watch the rest."

The other tributes get low scores that don't deserve our notice, except for the boy and girl from 11. The boy receives a ten like us, and the girl receives a seven. Clove and I take note of Thresh and Rue. We will watch out for them, and at the nearest chance, we will get rid of Thresh.

"Peeta Mellark," Caesar announces. "Receives a score of… eight!"

Clove and I share a look. I nod. Peeta is to be looked out for.

"Katniss Everdeen," Caesar gets overly excited. "The girl who was on fire!" He glances at his paper and his eyes practically bug out of his sockets. He laughs. "Eleven!"

"What?" Clove stands up. Her chest is rising and falling rapidly. She's hyperventilating. She is angry. Katniss Everdeen is to be carefully watched and get rid of soon. Katniss Everdeen needs to look out for my little one and me.

~ Clove ~

My eyes go wide when the photo of the bitch from 12 flashes on the screen along with her score. An eleven! How in the freaking hell did she outshine me? I breathe heavily trying to control my temper. I breathe and concentrate on not going up to floor twelve and killing her right now.

"Clove," Cato's voice rings through my ears. "It's all right."

I turn to him and see concern written all over his face. I look around me and see the same expression on Enobaria. Brutus looks amused. Our escort looks absolutely terrified. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I walk away without another word. An Avox approaches with a tray of hot chocolate. I push her making her fall and throw the hot drinks all over her. I run to my room and bolt the door.

Inside, I destroy everything. I break the mirrors, I throw the chairs around, and with the shards I puncture my mattress and the pillows. I scream out in frustration, anger, and hatred. I had done everything right, and the bitch had outshone me. Me! Clove Soto! I stop halfway through my fit when the door bursts open. Cato runs to me and hugs me. I break away from him and punch him. Or at least I try. He ducks and tackles me to the ground. He lies on top of me calling my name.

"Clove!" I hear fear in his voice. Fear that I might do something to myself. "It's all right! Remember what I promised you!"

"What?" I calm down a little.

"I promised you I would kill District 12 for you, and I will." He says fiercely.

"No," I say after a while. "That bitch is mine." I growl. "Katniss Everdeen is mine to kill. I will kill her first. I will cut her tongue. I will torture her until she screams for mercy!"

"Yes," Cato pats my head. "Yes, you will have her. I will get her for you."

I nod. "Okay," I breathe. "Okay. First Katniss, then Glimmer."

He nods and gets off of me. "You can have all the tributes to kill. You can have the world." He caresses my face. "Come on, you're sleeping in my room."

I follow him. No one says a thing to Cato leading me to his room. I assume they do not care as long as I don't kill anybody. Once inside, Cato slams the door and locks it. In the darkness, he crushes his lips to mine. He cups my ass and pulls me up in his arms. I wrap my legs around his torso and without another word, he makes wild and passionate love to me.

**First and foremost, thank you for the reviews! I am SO happy that you all like the story! Also thanks for adding the story to your favorites and adding me to your favorite author. It really means a lot to me that you like my work! Much love to you guys! Second, to my readers that do not have an account on , you can review! I accept anonymous reviews so feel free to express your emotions! Third, to my **Sweet Sacrifice **and **Elizabeth Dumbledore **readers do not worry! I am halfway through the next chapter! If everything goes well, I hope to upload the chapters this weekend though I make no promises because I am going home for Easter and the internet sucks at my parents' house. Anyway, once again thanks for the love and support! Until next chapter! ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games, so excuse moi while I go jump out of a window.**

**I apologize for taking longer to update, but things are crazy with the semester closing in. It's unbelievable that my first year in college is coming to an end! It's bittersweet. Oh! A little side story that may amuse you or make you cry like it almost made me: **sothe first Hunger Games movie was filmed in Asheville, NC like a couple of minutes away from where I live, right? I didn't know about that until like two days before the movie came out, so I was totally pissed off that I missed the filming. One of my friends, who shares my obsession with Peeta, comes to me one day during dinner and says, "Momo! (me) they are filming Catching Fire in downtown Raleigh this fall!" So my girlfriends and I go like, "Aah! Holy shit! We are totally going, kidnap JHutch and have his babies [mind you we go to an all-women's college so we're totally boy deprived lol]!" So I go online and start like researching and stuff [aka stalking lol], and here comes the heartbreaking part: it was an April fool's joke! :'( It wasn't my friend who played the joke on us though; I would have killed her. There was actually an article online, published by a writer here in NC, and it looked legit, but it was all a joke! We got our hopes up! I almost cried.** Anyway enough of my rambling, here are the interviews and probably half of the games. Let's see how much I write… **

_The Interviews_

~ Cato ~

I wake up to Clove's warmth. I smile and pull her even closer to me. She snuggles up to my chest and sighs. Last night had been the best night I've had since reaping day. Since that day, I spent my nights awake thinking of Clove and what could have been if I hadn't volunteered. However, having made my promise to Enobaria made me feel better about my screw up. Since I'm dying, I'm securing a life for Clove even if I'm not by her side. I hug her tightly feeling empty and sad that I won't see her once the games are over.

I know I don't regret last night. If I'm going to die, I might as well spend as much time as possible with her. We spent all night making love and even coming up with a plan for when we are in the arena.

"At the Cornucopia," she said as she made patterns with her fingertips on my chest. "We kill as many as possible." I could hear a smile on her lips.

"As soon as the Cornucopia is free," I continued. "We set up a camp there. Save all the supplies and keep them guarded."

She nodded. "We hunt down those who are still alive."

We remained silent for a while. She looked up at me with a frown on her face. I flattened her frown with my fingertip.

"What's wrong little one?" I asked.

"Glimmer," she said, and I understood.

I pulled her to me and kissed her. "There's no one but you. You're the only one I love."

She gasped. I had never told her I love her. I was never one to be affectionate having grown up in a home where affection and love did not exist. My father would beat my brothers and me for being weak. Love was a mystery to me until I met Clove. It seemed ridiculous that I had waited until the end to tell her that I loved her.

"Cato?" She gulped. "Do you really love me?"

"I do." I pulled her once again into a passionate kiss. "I do."

She smiled. "I love you too." She turned pensive. "But we have to keep them close. District 1 I mean."

"I agree," I said. "I'll keep Glimmer around until she is no longer useful."

We didn't talk about what would happen when it was only her and I standing at the end of the games. I know what I will do. I know I will have to die for her, and I have come to accept my fate and even embrace it. I'd die for Clove Soto. The only problem will be convincing her to kill me. She has been swearing to kill me, but after tonight she might hesitate to kill me in the end.

Clove begins to stir and brings me back to the present. She stretches her arms over her head and yawns. She sits up on the bed and looks around startled until her eyes rest on me. She smiles.

"Oh, hello there," she kisses me.

"Good morning," I say against her lips. "Did you sleep well?"

She laughs. "What a question considering half the night we spent making love and the other half talking."

"I enjoyed it," I say mischievously.

"Don't get me wrong so did I," she says sadly. "It won't happen again-"

"Shh," I kiss her. "Yes it will. We have time. Like now."

Just as we are about to go at it again, Enobaria bangs angrily on the door.

"All right!" She shouts. "I hear you talking! That's enough. Clove you have five minutes to get back to your room before I break this door and drag you out!"

Clove groans. "What a party pooper." She kisses me and gets up. "We'll continue tonight." She winks and puts on my robe and walks out. I sigh looking up at the ceiling. I smile looking forward to tonight.

~ Clove ~

I walk happily to my room. Last night had been the best night for a while. For once, I didn't cry myself to sleep knowing Cato was so close to me yet so far. I open the door to my room and find it clean. There's no trace of my outburst last night. I definitely still hold hatred towards Katniss Everdeen, but I know I will kill her tomorrow. I stop in my tracks. Tomorrow we are sent to the arena. Tomorrow I begin plotting the death of the love of my life.

I sit on the bed feeling out of breath. How can I kill him after all that we have gone through? How can I kill the man I love and knowing he loves me too?

"I can't." I whisper clutching my chest. "I can't."

"Oh yes you can," Enobaria slams the door to my room. She strides towards me and grabs me roughly by the arm. She drags me to the bathroom and turns the cold water on. Before pushing me inside, she rips Cato's robe off of me. The cold water hits me and makes me gasp.

"I allowed what happened last night because I didn't want you to kill anybody. He calmed you down." she says as she begins to shampoo my hair. "But you will continue with our original plan. You will kill him."

"I c-an't" I say through my teeth. "I-I-I love hi-im."

She slaps me across the face. Hard. My cheek burns, and I taste blood on my mouth. I bit my lip. She grabs my chin tightly and turns me to face her. Fear runs through my body. For the first time, I see Aunt Enobaria as a dangerous person. I see the fire and determination that helped her through the games.

"Don't be stupid child! You don't love him. Say you don't love him!"

"I can't." I say holding back tears. "I love him."

"Either you kill him," she says through gritted teeth. "Or I make sure the game makers kill him."

"No! You can't!" I shout. "You have no power!"

"Oh better believe I do my dear niece," she shuts the shower and pulls me out. "I have enough connections inside the Control Room that can make your dear Cato fall into a ditch, be ripped to pieces by mutations, attacked by a swarm of tracker jackers, or simply have a tree fall on his head. You decide darling."

I don't hold back my tears anymore. I know Aunt Enobaria will do as she says. She never lies. I look up at her as she looks down on me with a scowl on her face. I choke on a sob. How can I kill Cato? I can't. But wouldn't he want me to do it instead of some random person or a mutation? I know I'd rather die by his hand than someone else's.

"I'll do it." I look up at Enobaria defeated and angry. "I'll kill Cato like we planned."

"That's a good child," she gets me ready for breakfast.

~ Cato ~

During breakfast, Clove is quiet. She eats silently. I notice a fading red mark on her cheek. I look at Enobaria with a question in my eyes. She simply shrugs and continues to eat. After a while of silence, our escort opens his mouth.

"So what angle are we playing for the interviews?" He asks excitedly.

"Clove will act as the innocent, yet dangerous, fifteen year old from District 2." She turns to Clove. "You will make sure to threaten the other tributes sweetly."

Clove nods and continues to eat. I frown at how quiet she is. I know Enobaria must have hit her and said something that made Clove sad. Anger flares up inside me.

"I think we should pose as a couple," I say half trying to annoy Enobaria and half wanting to shout to the world how much Clove and I love each other.

Clove drops her fork and looks up at me with wide eyes. Brutus joins the conversation enthusiastically.

"Sounds like a good approach," he says leaning on the table. "That could get you both sponsors and make the games more entertaining at the end when it's just you two standing."

Clove stands up angrily and throws her plate against the wall. I immediately regret my words. Brutus has turned our love into a show. Of course, The Hunger Games are all for the entertainment of the Capitol. But not our love, our suffering and our pain; they will not see us in pain. They will not use our love for their amusement.

"Sit," Enobaria says as Clove looks ready to bolt out of the room. Clove sits down throwing daggers at Brutus with her eyes. "You will not pose as a couple unless you want to anger President Snow. You two will act indifferent. If they ask if you two knew each other, you will simply say you trained together but had no contact beyond that. Understood?"

Clove and I nod. "Suit yourselves," Brutus yawns.

"What about Cato?" The escort says after a while of awkward silence.

Enobaria turns to Brutus. "Let him act as himself," he shrugs indifferently. "Act like the ruthless and killing machine you are. That will get you the sponsors."

Breakfast couldn't have ended soon enough. Clove and I are sent to the Remake Center once again. I don't have the chance to talk to her; soon my stylists begin working on me. All they do is trim my hair here and there. They cover up bruises and scars that I got over the years and during the training sessions. My outfit consists of a black dress shirt, black pants, and a silver leather coat.

Soon enough, I am standing in the hall just behind the stage. Glimmer is chatting away while Marvel looks up at the ceiling his face annoyed. I can tell he is ready to kill her. I ignore her looking at the ground and just thinking of when I will see Clove. I hear the sound of heels hitting the floor behind me. I don't look until she's standing next to me. Since I'm looking at the ground, all I see first is legs; Clove's amazing legs. As my eyes move up, I see her black dress ends a couple of inches above her knees and her strapless dress show some cleavage. Her hair sports silver streaks and falls in waves to her lower back. Her green eyes stand out through the black eyeliner.

"Wow," I say before I can stop myself. "You look…"

"Like a whore," Glimmer scowls.

"You're one to talk," Clove spits back and glances at Glimmer's see through outfit. She turns to me, "Can I have a word with you?"

"Sure," I say. I'll finally figure out why she was quiet through breakfast. I will figure out what Enobaria said that upset her.

Clove walks away glaring at Glimmer one last time and leads me further backstage close to the elevators. She paces back and forth for a while and says nothing. I open my mouth to speak, but she turns and walks toward me. She grabs my coat and buttons it.

"The stylists did a good job," she grabs my collar and fixes it as well. "You look handsome."

"And so do you," I say with a smile.

"I look like a whore, remember?" she replies chuckling.

"No you don't." I touch her cheek with the back of my hand. "You look sexy and beautiful."

"Right," she lets go of me and begins pacing again.

"What's wrong little-"

"Don't," she stops pacing and turns sharply to me. "Don't call me that." She paces once again.

I frown. "What did Enobaria say to you?" I grab her hand, and she pulls away. "Clove, look at me." She ignores me. "Look at me!" I shout and she finally looks up at me. "What did she say?"

"It doesn't matter what she said," she replies.

"Are you sure?" I ask. "We were fine this morning. Enobaria must have said something important for you to be so… anxious?"

"I'm not anxious," she almost shrieks. "I'm scared." She whispers the last word.

"Don't be." I chuckle. "You're going to be fine. The crowd will love-"

"I'm not scared about the interviews Cato," she snaps exasperated.

"Then what?" I begin to feel angry. "Tell me what you're afraid of, what is bothering you?"

"You are," I hear pain her voice. "You are here. You broke your promise."

I am taken aback. It is the first time Clove reproaches my being in the games. I knew why she was angry, but she had never admitted it. My heart breaks at seeing Clove's pained expression. I open and close my mouth several times. I don't know what to tell her. What can I even say?

"Clove, I am so sorry," I step towards her. "I can't apologize enough. I screwed up royally, I know. I could deal thinking of your volunteering and fighting, but when your name was called, it all became real. I couldn't handle it. I couldn't handle thinking of you fighting for your life."

The whole time Clove was shaking her head and pacing back and forth.

"Clove," I grab her arms. "Please, please," my voice breaks. "I'm sorry."

"All you can do is make it up to me," she says grabbing me by the coat and pulling me close. "Promise me you won't let me win. I know you're capable of killing me and winning. No, don't protest. You and I know that at the end of the day, you're better than me. And it's fine." She smiles. "It's fine that you're capable of killing me. I want you to kill me."

I gasp. "I c-c-c" I stutter.

"Yes you can," her tone turns urgent, and she grips my coat for dear life. "Please Cato, promise me you won't hold back. Promise me we'll be equals, and if I have to die, it will be by your hand."

"Don't ask me that." I try to look away, but she grabs my face and makes me look at her. "I can't promise you that."

"Promise me!" She half-shouts, half-whispers. "Tell me you don't want the same. I think we both rather die by the hand of someone we love than some stranger."

I don't say anything because I know she's right. I know dying by Clove's hand would be better than dying by someone else's. Clove is my equal and losing to her would let me leave the world with pride, honor and happiness knowing she's safe. But losing to someone else who doesn't even know me or feels any kind of feeling would humiliate me.

"I promise," I say at the end. "I promise you will die by hand and no one else's. But you have to promise me the same."

She laughs. "I promise Cato," she kisses me.

We jump apart when we hear footsteps. I stand up taller and glare at the intruders. It is District 12. Katniss stands in the middle of the hall eyes wide and wearing a red dress. Peeta is behind her with his hands in his pockets wearing a dark suit with flame accents. Without another word, I walk away from Clove. I walk away before I go back on my word. Just as I reach Glimmer and Marvel, I realize I hold too many promises. But I know which promise I must hold. My promise to Clove will be above Enobaria's.

~ Clove ~

Cato walked away after sparing a glance at District 12. I let him go while I glare at Katniss Everdeen. She looks better in her outfit than I do, and I hate her for it. I hate her for being better than me at anything. I begin walking toward the stage. I hear their footsteps and whispering behind me.

"You and him," Katniss says timidly and afraid. I intimidate her, and I enjoy it until I hear her next words. "You're a couple, aren't you?"

For a second, I am surprised that she figured it out. Then I recover and all I feel for her is more hatred. They both know Cato's and my weakness: each other. I stop in my tracks and turn to them.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I say through my teeth.

"You love him," she frowns as if she's trying to figure me out. "Why are you hiding what you feel? Shouldn't you try to spend as much time together as possible?"

I keep my face as neutral as I can. I glance at Peeta. He looks pensive and mildly interested in the conversation.

"Listen," I sigh exasperated. "Cato and I were once a couple. When my name was called, and he volunteered, our relationship ended. All we can be is allies. But when it's just he and I standing, I will cut his heart out, and I will be the victor." I turn to Peeta. "There's no place for love in The Hunger Games. Love makes you weak, and the weak don't fare well." I realize I sound like Enobaria, and it shocks me. I turn away from them and walk away. I glance back for a while and see Peeta walk back to the elevators. I shrug and go stand next to Cato.

Soon, all of us parade onto the stage and sit off to the side in a semi-circle. Caesar Flickerman starts the show off by telling jokes and recounting the recent events such as the Opening Ceremony, and the scores. For a moment, I hate the man. I can hear in his voice his favoritism for Katniss when he briefly recounts how she looked at the Opening Ceremony. Once I am the victor, I will make sure to rub it in his face how Katniss is dead. He begins calling us off one by one. He starts with Glimmer the slut. She is all giggles and flirtatious comments. I want to jump on her and drive my heels through her throat. Marvel is next, and he acts like his arrogant and cocky self.

"Cato King!" Caesar calls on my Cato. He steps on the stage and grins at the audience. "Welcome my boy."

"Glad to be here," Cato says as he shakes Caesar's hand firmly.

"So what are you most looking forward to?" I roll my eyes. What a stupid question.

"Killing," Cato answers with a snort; he thinks the same as me. A stupid question.

"Of course," Caesar laughs. "Why do I even ask?" The audience chuckles. "If I have to guess, I'd say the most important thing for you is to win, correct?"

I see Cato's grin falter, but Caesar and the audience don't. He recovers fast and nods vigorously.

"Of course," Cato turns to the crowd. "It's the only way to impress the ladies."

Caesar throws his head back and laughs. "So true!" He pats Cato on the back. "So there's definitely a lady back home that you're trying to impress huh?"

My heart stops. He is asking all the questions that I would have liked to avoid. I close my eyes briefly and wonder how Cato will answer.

"Nah," Cato says. "I didn't have time for silly romances. I concentrated on my training."

I know Cato's simply doing what Enobaria told us to do. To deny any kind of attachment we have for each other. But I still feel betrayed and hurt that Cato is denying what we have. I hold back my tears and focus on my breathing.

"Of course," the sound of the buzzer startles me. "Sadly, that's all the time we have. Thank you Cato and happy hunting."

Cato nods and steps off the stage. "Next up," Caesar beams. "The lovely Clove Soto."

I smile and hop off my seat. I make my way to the stage with confidence much like I did when my name was called at the reaping. Caesar gives me his hand and spins me once around.

"You look lovely," he says. "A sweet young girl like you looks very provocative and classy."

"Thank you Caesar," I say sweetly. "How kind of you."

"Of course my dear." We sit. "Tell me how did you feel when your name was called?"

I beam and look at the audience. "Absolutely fantastic," I giggle. "I knew I was ready for the games. I was ready to volunteer, but luckily I was called."

"The odds are in your favor," Caesar says with awe.

"Oh yes they are," I respond with a dangerous smile. "Everyone will see once we step into the arena."

"Look at that smile," Caesar clutches his heart. "So lovely, yet so dangerous! Tributes look out for this small opponent. How about you my dear, do you have a sweetheart back at home?"

I sigh dreamily. "No," then I giggle. "But once I'm the victor, I'll have them lined up!"

Everyone is delighted with me, but inside I am dying. I want to shout that Cato is the love of my life. I want to shout that the Capitol and its games are tearing us apart and for that I hate them all. The buzzer saves me from a tremendous mistake. Caesar dismisses me with another smile and more praising. I take my sit next to Cato and watch absentmindedly as the other tributes step up.

I really begin to pay attention when District 12 is up. Katniss waltz her way up to the stage next to Caesar. She plays off the dumb, humble and weak angle very well. I imagine ways of killing her throughout her interview. She steps off the stage, and Peeta's name is called. It's much the same with him. I feel hatred and a desire to kill him. He plays the crowd like they are his puppets. He has them laughing and acting like idiots. I glare the whole time until the subject of romance is once again brought up.

"I just feel the need to ask you the same I asked Cato," Caesar begins. "Do you have a girl waiting for you back home?"

He hesitates, and the crowd seems to lean in to hear Peeta's answer. "No."

The crowd makes a sound of dismay. "Oh come on," Caesar laughs. "Does no one in any district know love?" I narrow my eyes at Caesar, what does he know about love? "Come on Peeta, a handsome lad like you must have someone. What's her name?"

Peeta hesitates once more. "Can you keep a secret?"

Caesar looks around with a playful smile on his lips. "I sure can, right folks!" The crowd shouts excitedly.

Peeta nods. "There is this one girl, who probably didn't know I existed until reaping day."

Caesar moans in sympathy as well as the crowd. "Does she have another man?"

"No," Peeta sighs defeated.

"Well," Caesar begins animatedly. "This is what you do. You go into the arena and win. Once you're home, she can't turn you down!" The crowd claps in approval and encouragement while Caesar smiles triumphantly like he has conquered the world.

"Winning won't help me." Peeta responds sadly once the crowd quiets down.

"Why not?" Caesar pouts.

"Because she came here with me." Peeta says quietly after a while. The buzzer sounds then. My vision is blurred. I see what he has done with the whole romance move. I see I gave him the idea. I have given District 12 the upper hand.

At the end of the interviews, I am walking as if in a dream. I am shocked at what I have done. I sit on a bench backstage. Everyone else goes up to their housing quarters. After a while, I look up and find Peeta walking slowly to the elevator. I stand up and block his way.

"Well done lover boy," I smile tightly. "You have proved me wrong. The Hunger Games _is_ the place for love after all."

"What are you talking about?" He says frowning.

"Oh come on," I laugh like I'm losing my mind because in a way, I am. "You have given her a chance. A real chance at surviving the games. The sponsors will be going crazy to help the star crossed lovers! That's just lovely." I step closer to him and fix his collar. "So tell me Peeta, do you think she'll appreciate what you've done? Do you think this will keep her alive? I am still going to kill her."

I shove him and walk over to the elevator. He stands next to me as I wait for the elevator to open.

"To be honest," Peeta says stuffing his hands on his pockets. "I don't really care about her."

I snort. "You don't say?" The elevator opens, and we both step inside.

"I don't." He shrugs. "It's all for publicity. You're right. The sponsors will be trying to help the star crossed lovers. They'll want us to be the last ones standing so that when the time comes to choose the winner, drama will take over."

I look at him with disgust. Here he is playing the love card on the sponsors, on the entire Capitol when he's not even in love with the girl! Meanwhile Cato and I have to be secret lovers. What's worse is that I prefer loving Cato in secret. I don't want The Capitol using our love, our suffering and pain for their entertainment.

"Well good for you," I say as the elevator opens on my floor. "Good luck staying alive."

"Wait," he says stepping onto my floor. "I want her dead."

I keep my face neutral while inside I am shocked. "Why would you want her dead? Aren't you supposed to be in love?"

He shrugs. "I'm just trying to get the sponsors. But she needs to die. I don't want to kill her; it'd look bad on me you know? And like you said I am supposed to be in love. Anyway, I know once in the arena she'll run away from the Cornucopia. I can lead you to her. I know her like the back of my hand. I have watched her over the years."

I think about his words. Some of the tributes are known to run from the Cornucopia once the horn sounds and the bloodbath begins. It could take us days to find her, but with Peeta we may find her sooner and end the games faster.

"If the sponsors see you running around with us, they'll know you lied." I say logically.

He shrugs nonchalantly. "Hopefully they'll think I'm trying to protect her."

"So you want to be in our alliance?" I ask for clarity.

"Yeah," he smiles.

"You do know I'm going to kill you as well." I smile back. "Once you lead us to Katniss, and I tear her to pieces you're next."

"We'll see." He extends his hand out. "Allies?"

After a second of thought, I take his hand and shake it firmly. "Allies."

**Well, I didn't get to the games. But next chapter is definitely the games! I'm excited! Also, I was asked by **ButterflyBlueEyes **if I was sticking to the original ending or if I'm writing an alternate ending. Well, I am doing both. I am curious as to what Clove and Cato think and feel during the original ending. But I also have an idea for an alternate ending; you can maybe guess what that ending will be like ;). I was also thinking about writing an epilogue to the original ending and another one to my new ending, what do you all think? Let me know your concerns, comments, like or dislikes in a review or PM. Thanks once again for the amazing reviews! Until next chapter! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games or Josh Hutcherson. How tragic is my life? :'(**

**All right, here we go! (;**

_The Games_

~ Cato ~

I knock on Clove's door, but I receive no response. Slowly, I open the door. I find her room empty. I frown. Where could she be? After the interviews, she walked aimlessly away from me. I couldn't go after her because the other tributes, their stylists, and mentors blocked me from her. I didn't find her, so I assumed she had gone up to her room. I want to talk to her. See if she's doing ok after all the bull shit I gave Caesar about not caring for anything or anyone but me. I want to reassure her I had lied during my interview, and I love her.

I back out of her room. I decide to wait for her in the sitting room. As I make my way there, someone pulls me inside a room. I find Enobaria closing the door of the parlor.

"Excuse me, but I need to rest." I make for the door.

"Sit down," she snaps and shoves me with strength onto a chair. "You did well in your interview."

"Thank you," I get up. "Now I have to rest for the games tomorrow."

"Shut up," she shoves me onto the seat again. "I'm not done talking." She pauses. "I thought I told you to stay away from Clove."

I roll my eyes. "Yeah well, I don't necessarily follow orders."

"Well you better follow through with your promise!" She growls. "You better protect Clove and make sure she wins."

I look at Enobaria in the eyes. "I know what I have to do." I stand up and make for the door.

"I'll be watching," she says as I stand on the doorway.

"The world will be watching," I mutter and slam the door behind me.

I make my way to the living room knowing that once Enobaria sees that I am not holding up to any promise but Clove's, she will kill me. I chuckle, hopefully Clove will be the one to kill me, and Enobaria will not have to rip my throat with her teeth. I am about to sit in the living room when I hear voices.

"So you want to be in our alliance?" I hear Clove say. Who is she making an alliance with?

"Yeah," Peeta? I frown and make my way to the elevator, which is where the voices are coming from.

"You do know I'm going to kill you as well." Clove threatens. "Once you lead us to Katniss, and I tear her to pieces you're next."

"We'll see." Peeta replies. "Allies?"

I stop when I see Clove and Peeta shaking hands. "Allies."

"What's going on?" I narrow my eyes. Why is Clove making an alliance with District 12? I thought we hated them mutually.

"Peeta is joining us." Clove answers as she lets go of Peeta's hand.

"What does he have to offer?" I get closer to them and cross my arms.

"Katniss," Clove says smiling slyly. "He says he can lead us to her."

"I see," I raise my eyebrows. "How do we know you won't be leading us away from her?"

"You don't," he shrugs. "You'll just have to see tomorrow." He extends his hand out to me. "Allies?"

"Why not," I shake his hand. "In any case, you'll make it easier for us to kill you."

He shrugs once again and turns to the elevator. Once the doors closes with him inside, I turn to Clove.

"How did you two end up becoming allies?"

"It's a long story," she says grabbing my hand. "I'll tell you later. I believe we left some unfinished business." She leads me to her room.

I wake up to the sound of shouting and banging on the door. Clove and I are naked wrapped in each other's arms. She stirs and rubs her eyes at the sound of Enobaria's voice.

"Get up now!" At least she's not threatening to drag Clove out by the hair. "You have to be on your way to the arena soon."

That makes Clove jump up. She turns to me with panic in her eyes. "Shh," I say pulling her into my arms. "It's ok." Tears begin to roll down her cheeks. "Shh, don't cry my love."

"I love you Cato," she pulls me in for a kiss. We kiss desperately and hungrily. I can't get enough of her, and I'll never will. Suddenly, the door bursts open and Enobaria drags Clove away from me. I sit on the bed as I watch her being led away. I didn't say goodbye.

After I'm dressed, I am led upstairs to the roof by Brutus and my stylist, Clyde. Brutus doesn't say anything on the way up. He simply picks his teeth. The elevator opens and reveals the roof. I step out followed by Clyde.

"Hey kid," Brutus calls out. "Try not to get killed." The doors close before I can say anything.

A hovercraft releases a ladder. I climb on, and they immediately pull me inside. I am met by a man in a white coat. Without a word, he pulls my arm and injects the tracker inside my arm with a syringe. Clyde is lifted up after that. We travel silently to the arena. The windows are tainted black not wanting to reveal the location of the arena. They serve Clyde and me breakfast. I eat without tasting any of the food, but I know I have to stock up for the arena.

I think of Clove and wonder if she's doing the exact same thing I am. I think about last night. We ravaged each other's bodies with urgency and passion. We knew it was our last night together. Although we'd be in the games, we couldn't hold each other, we couldn't kiss or smile or even look at each other with love. We could only stay focused on the games. We could only kill and secretly watch out for each other.

After a while, the hovercraft lands and the man with the white coat directs Clyde and me to the ladder once again. We are both lowered into the Launch Room underground. There, I shower and Clyde lays out the outfit the game makers have provided for all tributes. Once I'm dressed, I sit and think of Clove. I sit and wait for the games to begin.

~ Clove ~

Enobaria dragged me from Cato's arms. She took me to her room and slapped me though it was illegal to touch a tribute but who cares as long as I'm in shape to fight. I begged her not to let me go into the games. I begged her to not make me kill Cato. My pleas only made her angrier. At some point she shook me.

"Snap out of it Clove!" She yelled as I cried. "You're a fighter! You're a Soto!"

"I don't want to kill him Aunt Enobaria," I sobbed. "I don't want to."

"Listen to me Clove," her voice began to sound desperate. "I am not losing you. You're the closest I have to a daughter. My brother and your mother may not care for you, but I do!" I looked up to see Enobaria with tears in her eyes. "I'm not losing you to the Capitol. Please, promise me you'll try. Promise you'll go out there and kill as many tributes as you can."

I calmed down. It shocked me that Enobaria cares so much for me. She was right. My parents had not cared whether I died. If I died, they would be forever in disgrace. They told me to win and not embarrass them. I could only promise Enobaria one thing: to kill as many tributes as I could. I didn't promise her I would win. But she didn't know. All I said was 'I promise.'

"Clove dear," Emani, my stylist, snaps me out of my memories. "The hovercraft has landed."

I nod and follow her to the ladder. We are lowered into the Launch Room where I am prepared for the games. Enobaria came with us. It was when she stepped on the hovercraft that I realized exactly how many connections she had. Mentors couldn't come with the tributes to the arena, but Enobaria could. After waiting for a while, Cladius Templesmith announces it's time. Adrenaline kicks in, and I stand up automatically. Emani kisses my hand and wishes me good luck. Enobaria walks with me to the launching cylinder.

"Remember what you promised me," Enobaria says caressing my cheek. "Remember the plan. Kill as many as you can."

"I will Aunt Enobaria." I say. "I will."

Enobaria stands back and the cylinder closes. I turn my back to her as the cylinder rises. My eyes are momentarily blinded by the sunlight. I adjust quickly and look around the arena. I meet Cato's eyes briefly; we both nod. I face the Cornucopia and search the weaponry for knives. I spot them a couple of feet away from me. I crouch as Cladius speaks again.

"10… 9… 8…" My heart beats loudly in my ears. "7… 6… 5…" My forehead sweats. "4… 3… 2…" I smile. "1… Ladies and gentlemen let the 74th Hunger Games begin!" The horn blares.

We tear off of the platforms. I run faster than the wind and before I know it, I am clutching the knives in my hands. Just as I grasp the knives, a tribute runs screaming at me with a hammer raised high. I throw a knife at his stomach. He falls on the ground clutching his stomach. I grab his hammer and smash his head with it. Blood lands on my face. I don't have time to wipe the blood off and move on to another tribute. Briefly, I catch a glimpse of Cato killing left and right. He looks like a god. After killing my third tribute, I spot Katniss. She's running away like Peeta said she would. I see a boy from 9 follow after her.

Oh no, that bitch is mine. As I run after them, I dodge other tributes. I get closer to Katniss and the boy from 9. I see them fight over a backpack. Smiling, I send a knife flying at the boy's back. He soon falls dead to the ground. I quickly pull out another knife as I push my legs to run faster. Katniss' eyes widen in fear, and I smile wider. She turns around and runs; I scream and throw the knife at her head. I think she heard the knife going at her, for she pulled the backpack over her head. I missed. I stop as I near the edge of the woods. I am ready to follow her, but I know I'll get lost and die soon. I glare at the woods and run back to the Cornucopia to kill more tributes. I know I'll catch Katniss later.

~ Cato ~

Together, Clove and I killed six of the eleven dead tributes during the bloodbath. The rest were killed by Marvel, Glimmer and even Thresh from 11. As we go over the dead, we laugh and kick them. I realize I accidently killed the boy from 4. Oh well, I say to myself. It's not like the boy was important for the alliance.

"All right," I say when I finally get bored of watching Marvel poke the girl from 3. "Let's gather the supplies closer to the lake and far from the Cornucopia."

We all gather as many supplies as we can in our arms and begin moving them. I watch as Clove struggles to move a box out of the Cornucopia. I drop my own load and help her move her box. She glares at me, and I chuckle knowing she hates looking and feeling weak.

"I got this one," I say and nod towards the bags of apples I dropped. "Get that instead."

"You know you can't boss me around like Marvel and Glimmer," she says while still going for the bags of apples. "I'm not a chil-" She shrieks, and I turn around fast. My heart threatens to explode at the sound of my little one in peril.

A small boy has Clove in a choke hold. I drop the box and grab my spear and run at him. However, before I can get any closer, Clove reaches behind her and grabs the boy by his jacket. She pulls him forward and slams him on his back against the ground. With great speed, Clove reaches for her knife and brings it down on the boy.

"Stop!" The boy shrieks before Clove ends his life. "Stop! I can help!"

Clove stops right above the boy's chest. She looks up at me with a questioning look.

"How can you help?" I ask.

"I can reactivate the bombs the game makers place all over the Cornucopia!" He chokes out as Clove pulls him up and grabs him by the neck.

I raise my eyebrows impressed. The bombs around the Cornucopia are deactivated only after the horn blares. Before then, if a tribute steps off the platform trying to get a head start, he or she gets blown to pieces. To reactivate them is a difficult if not impossible task. I turn to Clove. She shrugs.

"We could test him; see if he's telling the truth." She pokes him with her knife. "If you lied, I kill you."

"All right," I grab him by the arm and search him to make sure he's not concealing any weapons. "Show us."

The boy turns out to be the counterpart of the girl from 3 that Marvel killed. He sets out to dig out the bombs. We send him far from us to activate them. I have Glimmer aim her bow at the boy ready to strike him if he does any funny business. I watch Clove sit on a crane eating an apple. She looks very angelical and innocent not like a killing machine.

"Cato," Glimmer draws my attention back to the boy. "He did it."

"How-" I see the boy running away from where he activated the bomb. As he reaches us, the bomb goes off. "Well, I'll be damned. All right, you're in." I look at our camp by the lake. "Reactivate them around our supplies in case any one comes back and tries to steal, they'll get blown to pieces."

"How are we going to get supplies if we need them?" Glimmer asks. "We'll explode too."

"The boy leaves a path free for us to get the supplies, you idiot." Clove says tossing her apple aside. "Only we will know that."

"Don't call me an idiot you little bitch," Glimmer points her arrow at Clove.

"Hey!" I shout at Glimmer. "Back off. We all need to be united until we kill the other tributes. Understood?"

"Oh come on Cato," Marvel laughs. "This shit was just getting interesting. Let them kill each other."

"Shut up Marvel," I snap. "We are not killing among ourselves, yet."

"Fine," Marvel gets up grabbing his spear from the ground. "Then let's find someone we can actually kill."

I nod. "Glimmer you stay-" I stop as I hear the bushes being rustled. "Hear that?"

"Yeah," Clove grabs her knives. "We have company."

"Get ready," I grin at Clove.

Glimmer turns and points her bow at the bushes. Marvel grabs his spear and gets ready to throw it. I draw my sword and wait. Peeta stumbles onto the Cornucopia. I put my sword down.

"Cato?" Marvel questions me when he sees I relax.

"It's all right," I say to both Marvel and Glimmer. "He's part of the alliance."

"Him?" Glimmer laughs. "He's weak."

"He's leading us to Katniss," Clove snaps and walks toward Peeta. "Where did you go?"

"I chased after Katniss." He replies out of breath. He sports some injuries and looks like he's limping.

"Liar," Glimmer calls out. "I saw you run in the opposite direction from her."

"He's a coward," Marvel cackles. "Are you sure we ought to keep him?" He asks me.

I shrug. "What do you think Clove."

"I say we keep him," she smiles at Peeta. "If he's a coward, he'll be easy enough to get rid of."

"That's it then," I shrug and turn to the boy from 3. "You, get to work." I turn to my allies. "Once he sets up the bombs, we go hunting."

Marvel shouts in delight. "Oh yeah baby! That's what I'm talking about." He grabs Clove and spins her around.

"I like you." Marvel says to Clove as we sit around, and she cuts the head of a lizard. "I like your killing style. I saw you kill that boy with his own hammer. It's going to be a real shame to kill you."

"Likewise," Clove shoves him and laughs. "Peeta!" She shouts at the boy sitting far from us. "Come join us."

Peeta gets up from his sit and walks over to us. He sits next to Clove, and I feel the need to snap his neck. He seems to have developed some kind of relationship with Clove.

"Well, well, well," Glimmer smirks. "It seems little Clove has found either a pet or a lover."

"Shut up Glimmer," Clove sighs annoyed. "No one wants to hear you run your mouth."

"Aw touchy, touchy aren't we?" Glimmer pulls her bow and arrow and points it at Peeta. "Cato, you think I can hit the forehead or the left eye?"

"Don't you dare Glimmer," Clove growls pulling out her own knife. "You'll be dead before you release the arrow."

"You want to take a swing at me sweetheart?" Glimmer sneers.

I roll my eyes as Marvel laughs. "Who will win ladies and gentlemen? I am betting on Clove. How about you Cato?" He turns to Peeta when I simply glare at him. "I bet you feel awesome right about now huh? Got two chicks fighting for you."

"All right," I stand up and pull Glimmer with me. "Let's go check on the boy."

"Fine," Glimmer responds happily.

When we are far from the others, I speak quietly to Glimmer. "Back off."

"What?" She stops and blocks my way. "Oh, are you trying to protect her lover boy?"

"Fine," I shrug. "Do whatever you want. You want Clove to kill you? Fine by me."

"Oh, are you trying to protect me?" She runs her hands up my arms and grabs my hair. "Do you care for me Cato?"

"For now," I say starting to earn Glimmer's trust and confidence. She wants to have someone in love with her hoping we'll die for her. Marvel told me she flirted with him from the beginning, but he has someone else home, so he told her to back off and die. The only other option was me. The other Career boy. "If I have to kill you, I will."

"We'll see." She smirks and pulls me down for a kiss.

~ Clove ~

I watch as Glimmer pulls Cato in for a kiss. My hand tenses around the knife. I could kill her. If I threw my knives sixty feet at the Training Sessions, I can definitely hit her; she is only a couple of feet away from me. I decide against it. We need all Careers. We lost the boy from 4, no real loss since he was a weakling, but the girl from the same district ran after the bloodbath. I guess she thought we'd kill her like her partner. Whatever. I roll my eyes and get up.

"Come on," I pull Peeta up. "Let's go gather some wood. Night is about to come."

"Where are you going?" Marvel stops his 'I'm Marvelous, and I know it,' song to yell at us. "I feel lonely. Hey, District 3 come make me some company!" He laughs and sings again.

"I'm surrounded by idiots," I mutter as Peeta and I near the lake and gather wood.

Peeta grunts by way of response. "Why are you protecting me?" He asks after a while of gathering wood in silence.

"Because you're leading us to Katniss," I snort.

"Oh," he chuckles quietly.

"What?" I turn to him.

"Nothing," he says trying to hide his smile. "I thought you were using me to make Cato jealous, or you know because you actually have feelings."

"Hey," I growl. "I am not made of stone. I have feelings. I just like killing." Silence. Then we both laugh. We laugh because it's all we can do. He can't kill me because he knows I'm faster, and he'll be on the ground in the blink of an eye. And I can't kill him because I need him to lead me to Katniss.

"You're not so bad," he whispers very quietly that I'm not sure I heard him right.

"Neither are you," we make our way back to the camp.

Glimmer is practically glued to Cato's side. I roll my eyes and drop the wood by her feet. I sit next to Marvel, and Peeta joins me on the other side.

"So, is he done?" I motion to the boy from 3.

"Yeah," Cato answers. "We'll show you the path he left free of bombs in the morning. Now, let's go hunting now that it's dark. Most tributes will rest and grow confident; they'll be easy to pick off."

"Yes!" Marvel stands up. "Let's do this shit!"

I can't help laugh at his enthusiasm. "All right, Marvelous calm down. We don't want you alerting the other tributes."

We set out with torches and flashlights. We start out cracking jokes and describing how we'll kill the next tribute we find. As we get deeper into the woods, we grow quiet and more alert. Glimmer walks close to Cato, and the entire time we walk, I pay attention to her movements and the way her hand brushes by his. I just want her dead. I jump ten feet in the air when the Capitol's music goes on.

"Relax," Peeta whispers. "Stop paying attention to her."

I blush and for once I'm glad for the darkness. I look up and see the faces of the dead tributes. First is the girl from District 3. Marvel laughs out loud when her face comes on. We all cheer and congratulate each other as our kills appear on the screen. After the recounting of the deaths, the Capitol's anthem plays and then gone. We resume our walking and this time, I listen to Peeta. I ignore Glimmer as much as possible. I walk ahead of the others, and in the distance, I see light.

I smile and turn back. "I see fire," I whisper; Cato lights up and steps toward me.

"Where?" I point ahead. He nods. "Good job."

I smile, and he takes the lead followed by Glimmer. As she passes me she pokes me in the chest and whispers. "Want a cookie little bitch?"

"I want you dead," I spit her in the face and walk away. I faintly hear Marvel chuckling and calming Glimmer down. I chase after Cato trying to be as silent as possible. I barely hear the others behind us; they are also trying to be quiet but swift. Cato jumps on the tribute, who turns out to be a girl. She shrieks astonished.

"No!" She pleads as Cato draws his sword. "Please don't!" Then Cato strikes her in the stomach, and she ceases to make noise.

I smile in the darkness and run my hands slowly up his back. He shivers and turns to me. He grins and wipes his sword with his jacket.

"All right! Twelve down, eleven more to go!" Marvel high fives Cato.

"Let's clear out, so they take the body before it stinks up the place." Cato says with disgust.

"Agreed," Glimmer grabs Cato's hand and leads him away.

"Wait," I interrupt. "Let's check her for anything useful."

"Great idea Clove," Cato praises me earning a glare from Glimmer. I bend down and turn the girl. I see she's from District 8; I briefly search her pockets and find nothing. I grab her blood drenched bag. I rummage through it but find nothing interesting but granola, an empty container, and some rope.

"Nothing we don't already have or will even be useful." I drop the bag and follow Marvel. We don't make it far enough when a sudden thought goes through my mind. "Shouldn't we have heard the cannon by now?"

My companions and I stop. We listen as if we could possibly miss the sound of the cannon.

"We should have," Marvel frowns and looks back. "They have no reason to not blare it immediately."

"Unless she's not dead," Glimmer says.

"She's dead," Cato growls. He doesn't like to be questioned. I snicker; oh Glimmer is getting on his bad side. "I killed her myself."

"Then where's the cannon?" Glimmer argues. I remain silent just hoping Cato snaps her neck for being so stupid.

"Someone should go back and make sure she's dead," Marvel suggests.

"Good idea," Glimmer adds. "We don't want to hunt her down again."

"I said she's dead!" Cato yells frustrated.

"Maybe you didn't hit her where it counts honey," Glimmer smiles sweetly at Cato. "Don't worry. We can't blame you if you fail."

"He didn't fail you idiot," I snap. "I'm sure Cato got her."

"Then where's the horn, huh?" Glimmer yells back. "He can't always be perfect!"

"He is you imbecile blonde!" I shout pulling out my knife. "Say otherwise and I'll-"

"We're wasting time!"Peeta shouts annoyed. I almost forgot he was with us since he remained silent until now. "I'll go back and make sure she's dead."

"Go on lover boy," Cato shrugs indifferently and leans on a nearby tree. Peeta turns around and goes back to where the girl surely lays dead. I look at Cato. He seems annoyed and exasperated.

"Are you sure we shouldn't just kill him?" Glimmer says to Cato sweetly trying to get back on his good graces.

"Eh, I say we let him follow us," Marvel says biting his nails. "As I said, he's kind of a coward and harmless. Plus, he's handy with the knife."

"Yeah," Glimmer snorts. "Because Clove has trained him. I say we kill him. I want to do it, but I'll let you do it Cato if you want."

"No one touches him," I say angrily. "He's my ally."

"He's your pet," Glimmer retorts with a chuckle. "You just want him around because you're dying of jeal-"

"That's enough Glimmer," Cato silences her. "He's leading us to her, and he is Clove's ally. End of discussion."

Just then, before Glimmer angers Cato further, Peeta returns and everyone falls silent.

"Was she dead?" Cato asks.

"No," Peeta walks by him. "But now she is."

I walk after him, and Marvel soon follows with Glimmer trailing behind Cato. We spend a couple of more hours looking for more tributes, but we find none. The girl from eight was the only one stupid enough to start a fire and attract us to her. We go back to camp as dawn breaks in. Cato shows Peeta and me the pattern to get supplies. I grab a sleeping back and pull it away from everyone. However, just as I am getting ready to catch on some sleep, Peeta joins me with his own bag. He lays it down next to me, and I frown.

"Afraid they'll kill you in you sleep?" I say lying down.

He shrugs. "By the way, you're welcome."

"What?" I snort. "What have you done for me? I've been protecting you this whole time."

"Maybe," he whispers. "But I saved you earlier from showing the Capitol the relationship you have with Cato. I'm sure you don't want them to find out."

I sit up startled. I think back to earlier when I was defending Cato. My actions and words could be seen suspicious by the Capitol. I look over to Cato who's laying down his hands behind his head. He seems to feel me watching him, so he turns. He meets my eyes briefly, and I see longing in them. I turn away.

"Thanks," I whisper back to Peeta and lay down.

"Thank to you too." He turns his back on me.

"You're not so bad Peeta," I whisper hoping he's asleep. "I hope you run when your time comes. I hope someone else kills you because I don't really want to." I sigh. "But I will. I will kill you. I will kill Katniss. Oh and I will kill Glimmer. I will kill Marvelous," I chuckle and yawn at the same time. "I will kill-"

I drift off into sleep as I think of one person I don't want to kill: Cato.

**So nothing terribly interesting happened, I think. Thanks for the reviews and for adding my story as your favorite! You guys rock my world for real! I hope to have another chapter in before the weekend ends. Let's keep our fingers crossed that my creative juices keep flowing! Much love and until next chapter! Review or PM any questions or concerns. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games, nor do I own sexy Cato. My life sucks. **

**I am so glad you all liked the last chapter! You blow my mind with how many of you added my story as your favorite/ alert. Thank you! Sadly, this is probably the last update for a while. In the next couple of days, I have to write many papers, for which I have procrastinated so much to write this story. I have no shame or regrets. I don't know when I'll update because I'm hoping to get a job soon, (boo for growing up), but I will try to update as soon as I have a chance! Anyway, without further ado, more games…**

_The Games, Part 2_

~ Cato ~

"Cato!" I turn over. "Cato!" I groan. "Cato! Wake up damn it!" Peeta's urgent voice finally penetrates through my slumber.

"What?" I sit up and rub my eyes. "Are we under attack?"

"No, but-" Peeta replies quietly but urgently.

"Then go away lover boy," I lay back down.

"There's something wrong with Clove!" I get up as if I've been shocked. I grab my sword and run to where Clove is wheezing and pulling at her hair.

"Clove?" I ask as I drop my sword and pull her in my arms. "Little one, can you hear me?"

All I receive from her is more wheezing and coughing. Her face is turning red, and I realize she's having an attack. She hasn't had one for years. At the beginning of her training, at the age of twelve, she had attacks. That's how we met; I had heard her wheezing in the bathroom and helped her though it. I knew she was receiving treatment and at some point her attacks stopped altogether. They must be returning because she was under so much stress and in a different environment.

"What's wrong with her?" Peeta asks with concern.

"She's having an asthma attack," I reply trying to think of how to help her. She has no medicine. There's no way to help her. "Clove, listen to me. You have to take deep, slow breaths. Okay?" She pulls at her clothes. She feels she's being suffocated. I open her jacket hoping it helps her. "Clove, sweetheart, breathe. Please, slow, deep breaths." I beg desperately.

She makes eye contact with me, and I see panic in her eyes. She doesn't want to die this way. She wants to die fighting. I cover her nose and give her mouth to mouth resuscitation hoping to aid her in breathing. It is all I can do without any kind of medical equipment. The whole time, my heart feels like it's going to explode. I realize I can't deal with her dying. I can't think of it. I can't imagine it. I can't let it happen. Suddenly, Clove grabs my arm tightly. I stop giving her mouth to mouth and pull back.

She sits up, still wheezing but a lot calmer than before. Her face is wet with tears and sweat. I clean her with my sleeve immediately and step back knowing she needs space to breathe.

"Slow deep breaths little one," I remind her as she struggles to adapt to breathing. "You're ok." I can hear relief and love in my voice.

"P-P-Peeta," she gasps out.

I remain motionless as Peeta sits next to her. She extends her hand out, and he grasps it tightly in his. "What is it?" He asks urgently. My jaw locks and my muscles tremble. I see red and all I want is to snap his neck, drive my sword through his stomach, or behead this boy.

"Th-thank y-you." Clove says with real gratitude. "Thanks for getting Cato." She smiles.

"Anytime," Peeta replies with a smile of his own and tucking a lose lock behind Clove's ear. "I'm going to get you some water."

"Thanks," she lets go of his hand. She's once again breathing normally. She looks up at me. "Thank you," she says to me with an emotion I don't recognize through my jealous state.

I nod and remain standing up stiffly. "We need to get you medicine," I say. "Enobaria needs to use one of our sponsors to get you the medicine you need."

"No!" She says with force. "We need to save our sponsors when we really need them."

"We need them now," I say angrily. "You almost died!"

"I'm fine!" She shouts back. "It was just out of stress and the cold temperatures. I'll adapt."

"No you won't," I snort. "You're going to die before the games are over."

"Fine by me," She whispers.

I sit down next to her and grab her arms. "You're not dying yet," I say fiercely. "Unless you want to break Peeta's heart." I spit out before I can control myself. I am raging inside. Clove has developed feelings for the boy. I will have to kill him soon. Who cares if he leads us to Katniss? We'll find her anyway; we don't need him.

"What are you talking about?" She frowns, then her eyes widen as she sees the truth in my face. "You're jealous?"

"No," I stand up and grab my sword. "That's stupid."

Peeta returns with a bottle full of water. As soon as he gives her the bottle, I pull him up by the collar and drag him away from Clove.

"Come on," I tell him. "Let's bring her something to eat."

He and I walk silently to the supply pile. The whole time, I am clenching and unclenching my fists around my sword. I am trying to refrain myself from killing him. I think logically. If he leads us to Katniss sooner than we can find her on our own, Clove can get out of here fast and receive the medicine she needs. But if I kill him, it can take us weeks to find the girl and kill her. By then Clove could die. We reach the supplies, and I hand him some apples, peaches and crackers.

"You are not going to kill me?" He asks as we make our way to where Marvel, Glimmer and the boy from 3 are getting up.

"Not yet," I reply stiffly. I stop and block his way. "But don't push it. Stay away from Clove. She's mine!" I growl quietly not wanting the cameras to catch what I'm saying.

"I know," he says. "We're only allies. We depend on each other for now. If she dies, you all kill me. If I die, she can't find Katniss." He sidesteps me and walks over to the others. I take a deep breath and join them.

~ Clove ~

I should have thanked Cato first for saving my life. But Peeta had gone to get Cato as soon as I gasped out Cato's name through my wheezing and coughing. So Peeta deserved the credit, right? I wanted to run to Cato's arms when I finally recovered. I wanted to kiss him in gratitude, but I couldn't. All I could do was convey as much love as I could when I thanked him after Peeta went to get me water. I was concerned when Cato pulled Peeta away. I feared Cato would kill him because he was jealous even though he had no reason to. Peeta and I depended on each other. Without me around, the others, meaning Glimmer, would surely kill him. I had to admit though Peeta was truly not that bad. He seemed to know what it was like to suffer for love. He seemed to sympathize with my suffering at seeing the one I love with someone else or not being able to be with him. I wondered if Peeta did actually have someone he cared about in District 12.

"-the same as yesterday." Cato's voice interrupts my thoughts. "District 3, you stay behind to guard the supplies. All of us go out hunting. It's been a slow day."

"Tell me about it," Marvel yawns. "I'm bored. Hey, Clove why don't you start a fight with Glimmer today?"

"Shut up," I croak out since my throat feels funny. "I'm not in the mood."

"She knows she'll lose," Glimmer snickers.

"For the love of-" Cato exclaims. "Will you both just shut up?"

I frown and realize Cato is truly pissed off. I stand up and nod towards the lake. "If we're leaving soon, let's fill the bottles with water." I grab Marvel's and Peeta's bottles along with mine and make my way to the lake. I don't look back to see if Cato is following me because I know he will. I lean down and fill Marvel's. Cato bends down and fills his own bottle followed by Glimmer's.

"You're staying," he says suddenly. "You need to rest after your attack."

"Hell no," I reply quickly. "I'm not missing any action. Besides, I feel better already."

"Because Peeta is nursing you?" He spits venomously referring to how Peeta peeled my apple, so I wouldn't eat the skin and make my throat itch.

"Because I don't want to waste time away from you," I reply quietly making as much noise as I can with the water. I don't want the cameras to hear what I'm saying. I feel Cato stiffen next to me. He slowly turns to look at me with wide eyes. I smile and run my index finger along his face.

"You have dried blood," I lie. I wet my hands and run both hands over his face. I clean him up as an excuse to touch him. He closes his eyes briefly. I stand up knowing we have dragged this too long and the viewers can get suspicious of our touching. Cato stands up with both bottles full of water and looks down at me. I see the hint of a smile on his lips, and his eyes don't look angry or sad. I smile feeling happy that I brought some joy to him.

"Look!" Glimmer shouts. "Smoke!"

Cato and I turn to see where she's pointing. Soon enough, we see smoke in the distance. Cato and I walk back to where the others are sitting. I hand the boys their bottles as I stare at the smoke frowning.

"The Capitol is bored," I say. "They are trying to draw the other tributes out. Maybe even make them run this way where we're camping."

"They want action," Cato adds.

"Let's give them action!" Marvel shouts excitedly. "Everyone ready?"

We all nod in agreement. We load up with weapons and some rations of food. I think about suggesting we take something to sleep on, but I decide against it. We'll surely return to camp. We set out and follow the trail of smoke. Cato slows down and sends Marvel and Glimmer ahead. He walks next to me and rips a piece of his shirt.

"Here," he hands it to me. "Cover your nose and mouth. I don't want you to get another attack."

I take it and put it over my nose. "Thanks," I say through the cloth that smells completely of Cato. I smile behind the cloth as Cato nods and moves up ahead.

"We're happy, aren't we?" Peeta asks with a smirk.

"Shut up lover boy," I shove him slightly.

"Fine lover girl," he chuckles.

Peeta and I run to catch up to the others. Together, we walk a bit far from the lake, but we find no one. Suddenly Marvel stops and cocks his head to the side.

"Hear that?" He says with a mischievous smile on his lips. "It's the sound of water splashing."

"It could be an animal," Glimmer says negatively.

"Let's find out," Cato pushes forward.

We get closer to the lake, so we have a clearer view of who's around. We reach a narrow and small river. My heart beats loudly, and I burst out laughing as I see Katniss in the water. Cato and Glimmer cackle as they too realize who it is.

"Well, look who it is!" Marvel shouts delighted. "The girl who was on fire!"

We all break into a run after Katniss as soon as she gets out of the water and runs like hell towards the woods. I get ahead of the others pushing my legs and light body to run faster than the wind. I cross the narrow river in seconds, and I am very close to Katniss that I swear I can hear the sound of her heart pounding loudly against her ribs. I let out a laugh that echoes through the forest. It sounds demented, and I love it.

I break into a clearing, and I swear I have her but there's no one around. I look up when a tree branch falls from above. I glare as I see Katniss climbing a tree with agility. Soon, I am joined by the others. They look at me questioningly. I point upwards, and I see their eyes widen.

"Fuck," Marvel mutters under his breath. "How are we going to get her now?"

The bitch lets out a laugh and yells down at us. "How's it going?"

"Awesome," Cato yells back. I can see the wheels in his mind turning. He's trying to figure out how to get her. "How about you?" His eyes search the tree desperately. He knows he can't climb. He's much too heavy and so are Marvel and Clove. Peeta can't do it with his limping leg.

"It's a little too hot for my liking," Katniss replies cheerfully. "But it's much better up here. Why don't you come join me?"

"Don't mind if I do," Cato drops his bag and moves towards the tree.

He holds on to a branch and hoists himself up. I look up and see Katniss is at least thirty feet up in the air. Cato doesn't even make it ten feet when a branch gives way under him. He falls on his back and he groans. I run to him biting my lip. I pray he didn't break anything and he's ok. He stands up and dusts himself off, and I sigh in relief. He looks like he's going to try again.

"No," I stop him. "I'll do it." I look up. "I'm smaller, and I did well at the rope course. I'll go up there."

Cato looks up at the tree, and I see worry in his face. I think he's going to say no, but when he looks into my eyes, I can tell he sees confidence in me. He nods. "Be careful."

I nod and drop my bag. I hold on to another branch and pull myself up. I think for a second that I can't do it. There's nowhere to hold on to unlike at the rope course, I had ropes to pull myself up. I pause and look around me. I hear Glimmer snicker under me. I shake my head and climb once again. I make it at least twelve feet when a branch I thought looked sturdy breaks. I yelp as I hit the ground. Cato and Peeta lean down on me and call my name. I moan but push myself to get up. I look up at Katniss who looks amused. I glare with all the hatred I can muster. I pull out a knife and throw it up at her. She jumps to another branch and the knife misses her just barely.

I am ready to throw another one, when Cato stops me and shakes his head. "Don't waste your knives." He turns to Glimmer. "Aim at her legs or foot." Glimmer nods and points her bow and arrow at Katniss. She lets go but doesn't even get close like I did.

"You incompetent bitch," I yell at her. "You can't even fucking get near her!"

"Yeah?" she spits back. "Well you can't even climb a tree!"

"I'd like to see you try for once to do something for the team!" I shove her. "This whole time you've been letting someone else do the work. Looks won't save you here honey."

"Stop bickering!" Peeta shouts. "Let her stay up there. She's not going anywhere without going through us. She has to come down eventually."

I take a deep breath and nod. "Good idea Peeta." I sit down and tend to my wounds.

"Glimmer, make a fire." Cato orders Glimmer. "You ok?" He says sitting down next to me.

"Yeah," I reply looking at my ankle. "I twisted it a bit, but I'll manage. Are you ok?"

"Yeah," he breathes deeply. "The impact hurt, but nothing is broken. Let's get some cold water on your ankle." He rips another piece of his shirt and pours water on it. He places it on my swollen ankle, and it feels like heaven. I moan and lean back on the tree.

"We'll get her won't we?" I ask Cato while I close my eyes.

"Yes," I can hear rage at being made a fool in his voice. "We'll get her."

~ Cato ~

Night gets near, and Katniss is still poised up in the tree. Marvel gets bored at some point and begins throwing rocks at her. He doesn't try to throw his spear knowing that if he misses, he'll have no weapon to defend himself. He grew tired and slumped against a tree. He fell asleep soon after that. I sit by the fire running my sword over it while Glimmer leans on me. I look across the fire at Clove who's once again hunting lizards. Peeta sits next to her, looking up at the tree with worry. He hasn't stopped looking up since we sat down. I frown and wonder whether we are right at trusting him. I shrug. If Clove trusts him, so do I.

We all start to doze off around dawn. I shake my head trying to stay awake and make sure Katniss doesn't escape. I made a promise to my little one, and I intend to see it through soon. I fall asleep as the anthem begins to play.

I stir feeling somewhat hurt. We should have brought sleeping bags, I think. I don't do sleeping on the cold ground. I feel someone stir beside me, and for a second I think it's Clove. I open my eyes and see blonde hair sprawled all over my arm. I roll my eyes when I realize it's Glimmer. I search the tree and find Katniss still up there hidden by foliage but her feet dangling. I look over the camp and find everyone sleeping except for Clove. In fact, she's nowhere to be seen. I whisper her name. No response. I panic and think she may be in trouble. I get up abruptly. Glimmer remains sleeping. I stand up and look at the ground searching for foot prints. Soon enough, I find small foot prints leading off to a pond nearby. Clove sits by the pond pouring water on her ankle.

"Couldn't sleep?" I ask.

"No," she replies turning to face me. "It was too hot."

I nod and open my mouth to say it's her fault for being too sexy when I hear screaming from the camp we set up under the tree. Clove and I look at each other and then run back. We break into the clearing and find everyone running and swapping flies away. Wait, they aren't flies they're-

"Tracker jackers!" Clove shouts as one stings her. "To the lake!" She pushes me. "To the lake!" I run pulling her with me. I am stung on the back of the neck. I curse. I hear footsteps behind us.

"Cato!" Glimmer shrieks. "Cato! Help me!"

I don't even glance back. After a while, I stop and pull Clove up in my arms. Not soon enough, I hear water. I jump into the lake with Clove still in my arms. We stay underwater for a while, and then we reemerge spitting water out. The tracker jackers are gone. I turn to Clove, who's violently coughing water. I pull her towards me. I see she has been stung on her temple, under her lips, her right hand, and her arm. I help her out of the water. She lies on the ground panting and moaning.

"It's ok," I move her wet hair out of the way. "We're ok." I hear splashing behind me and see Marvel make it out. I nod. I prefer Marvel over Glimmer.

I wonder if Peeta made it out alive. Hell, I wonder if Katniss is still out there. Clove must have been thinking the same because she abruptly gets up and looks at me with panic.

"Katniss!" She gets up and runs back. "She'll get away!"

I follow after her only to make sure she doesn't pass out. Before we reach the clearing, I hear Peeta shouting.

"Run!" Peeta shouts desperate. "What are you doing? Just run!"

Clove and I break into the clearing at the same time and catch a glimpse of Katniss running. Clove screams frustrated and runs at Peeta. She punches him, and he falls on the ground clutching his jaw. I draw my sword and drive it through his leg. He screams in pain, and I twist my sword. I pull out and kick him. He crawls away from me, but I follow him closely. I am about to cut his head clean when Clove stands in my way.

"Move Clove," I say furious yet delighted. I finally get to kill him. "He's mine."

"No," I see tears in her eyes. I don't know if it's because she's hurting, or she cares for the boy. "He saved my life. Don't kill him." She looks down on him. "You have injured him enough. Let nature take its course. It'll be painful, but in a way we'll repay him for saving my life."

"What if he recovers," I say lowering my sword. "We'll have to hunt him down later."

"No," she says firmly. She turns to Peeta. "I have saved you for the last time. I don't owe you anything anymore. The next time we cross paths, I won't help you."

She turns away. I sigh and kick the boy. "Go on then," I say through gritted teeth. "Before I change my mind."

He limps away. I hate myself for letting him go, but I know I can't deny Clove anything. I turn to her. She's searching the camp for anything left. We find Glimmer's body unrecognizable if only for her blonde hair. Clove spits on her body and kicks her.

"It's a shame you're dead," she says. "I wanted to be the one to pull your guts out and hang you from a tree with them."

I put my arm around her and steer her away from Glimmer's body. We run into another body a few feet away from us. The only way we recognize the body is for the number 4 written on the girl's jacket. We keep on walking only sparing a glance at the body. I can tell Clove is exhausted and even delirious for the stings. She keeps muttering things talking to me as if I were Enobaria. I pull her once again up in my arms, so we can move faster. Just as we are nearing our camp, I fall on the ground. Before I collapse, I make sure Clove falls on top of me. As we lay there, I think this is an ok way to die. I have Clove in my arms, and we're dying together. I move so I can kiss her head.

"I love you," I whisper. But then I think, who cares if the Capitol finds out about us now. We're dying anyway. "I love you." I say louder. "I love you Clove."

I'm beginning to close my eyes when I see a silver thing falling form the sky. I wonder if it's the hover craft ready to pull me and Clove out. No, this thing moving towards us is much too small. It lands to my left, and I realize it's a gift from our sponsors. It's medicine! I sit up with renewed energy. I open the can with enthusiasm. It's a green lotion that will treat the stings from the tracker jackers. I work on Clove first. Her breathing is shallow, and I know she doesn't have long before she succumbs to the venom.

I spread the lotion where she was stung. Her breathing evens out, and she moans in relief. Once I'm convinced she's going to be ok, I work on myself. I lay once again on the ground next to Clove feeling better. Marvel stumbles through the bushes. He looks much worse than Clove and I did. I know I still need numbers to get rid of the others, so I throw the lotion at him.

"Here," he barely catches it. "It'll help with the stings."

Soon enough, I hear him sigh in relief. He leans back on a tree and falls asleep. I pull Clove close to me, and I let myself fall asleep.

~ Clove ~

I wake up to the sound of water. I open my eyes, and I'm blinded by the sunlight. When I adjust, I sit up and look around. I'm back in the camp. I see the boy from 3 pacing around the supplies. I hear more water being splashed and look to my right. I find a shirtless Cato washing the dirt and a green thing off of his body.

"What is that?" I ask pointing at the green stuff on his lower back.

Instead of answering, he smiles. "How are you feeling?"

"Better actually," I respond going over to the lake. I see my reflection on the water, and I shriek. "What is that on my face?" I, too, have the green stuff on my temple and under my lips.

"A gift from our mentors and sponsors," he says. "We almost died from the tracker jackers stinging us. This lotion saved us."

"Oh," I look up at the sky. "Thanks Aunt Enobaria."

"And Brutus," Cato goes back to washing. I nod and set out to remove the green stuff from my face and from my arm and hand.

As I wash, I think of Peeta. I wonder if he's been saved by his own mentor and sponsors. I shake my head. What do I care? It's best if he dies. He betrayed me. I bite the inside of my cheek. I cannot cry for that boy. I had grown used to him and his friendship. Wait, friendship? No. He was only an ally. Hell, not even an ally since he had his own agenda the whole time. He never intended to lead us to Katniss. He was in fact leading us away from her; he was protecting her.

"I'm sorry," I whisper to Cato.

"For what?" He asks startled.

"For bringing Peeta into the alliance," I shake my head. "I was very stupid to think we could trust him. He was protecting her all along. Because of him we almost died."

"Don't worry about it," he wipes my face with his sleeve. He stops and turns serious. "I let him go because you asked me. Because he did save your life when you had the attack, but if I run into him again, I will kill him. Don't intervene, understood little one?"

I nod. "I know," I sigh. "How long have I been out?"

"Two days." He motions with his head to Marvel. I smile knowing he's alive. I preferred Marvel over Glimmer from the very beginning. "He's been out longer. After I carried you here, I went back for him."

I smile hugely. "You carried me?"

"I did," he stands up and pulls me up with him. "Can't lose my partner yet."

Marvel wakes up soon after Cato and I start a fire and cook some meat we found in one of the crates. We eat a lot and by then end of it, we are too engorged to even move. The cannon sounds announcing one more death. We look at each other. I briefly wonder if it's Peeta. We remain quiet for the rest of the day. There's nothing to say, and we are all tired and weak from the tracker jackers' venom even though we're fully recovered. I am soaking up the sun and feeling Cato's gaze on me when I hear the boy from 3 fumble with a plastic box. I roll my eyes and look over the distance. I stop and narrow my eyes when I see smoke in the distance.

"Cato," I call out to him without removing my eyes from the smoke. "Do you see that?" I point.

"Yeah," he narrows his eyes. The setting sun is making it hard for us to see exactly what that is. "Smoke. Marvel, get up. We have game."

After looking so lazy and laid back, Marvel lights up at the prospect of killing. "Yes! Finally!"

"Stay here and guard the supplies," Cato orders the boy from 3 as we gather our weapons.

"This time I got this one," Marvel says. "I haven't killed since the Cornucopia."

"If it's twelve," Cato grabs Marvel's arm and pulls him back. "They're mine and no one interferes."

"I thought you killed the traitor?" Marvel asks following Cato through the woods.

"Technically I did," Cato responds gaining speed. "I struck him hard. He's bleeding to death right about now."

"Let's speed up," I suggest. We take off in a run.

After running for a while we get closer to the smoke, and I begin to cough. Cato glances back at me often. I shake my head when he asks me whether we should stop. Soon, we reach the source of the smoke. We jump into the clearing but find no one but the blazing fire. Cato's jaw locks. He pushes forward even though I suggest we turn back.

"Cato," I say for the fifth time and when we reach a second fire. "I don't like this. This looks like a trap. Maybe we should-" I stop when I hear someone shriek.

"What was that?" Marvel asks.

Cato pushes forward with a smile on his lips sure we have caught someone. And we did. Tangled on a net in the ground is the small tribute from eleven. Cato laughs. "Well done, Marvel."

Cato pats Marvel on the back for his quick thinking of laying nets like this around the arena. I smile but don't join in on the celebration and mocking the girl. I look around the clearing feeling on edge that we have been laid a trap. Just as I am about to suggest we kill the girl and go back to the camp, an explosion shakes the ground. I turn to Cato with my eyes wide. We have been laid a trap!

"It's the bitch from 12!" I shout as we run back to the camp. "She and eleven are in league."

We reach our camp and find all of our supplies gone. Cato begins to breathe heavily. He is ready to burst in anger. He runs at the boy from 3.

"What the fuck happened?" Cato shouts and grabs the boy by his collar. "You were supposed to guard the supplies!"

"I-I-" the boy stutters and begins to sob. "I'm sorry, I-"

Cato has had enough. With a quick movement, he snaps the boy's neck. Cato throws the body aside and kicks him. He kneels and screams out in frustration. I kneel in front of him and grab his face in my hands.

"Cato," I say calmly. "Cato, my love." He looks into my eyes. "It's ok. It's almost over. We can get through this with the supplies in our bags. Let's go back to where we left Marvel guarding Rue. We kill him and take his supplies. The rest will be easy as pie. Almost all tributes are gone, and we know who did this. We'll get that bitch. We can do this, Cato." I kiss him.

He grabs the back of my neck and kisses me passionately. We pull apart breathing heavily. "We can do this. It's just you and me." He kisses me again, sweetly this time.

"Just you and me," I smile lovingly.

We stand up and grab our remaining supplies and set out to finish this once and for all.

**As I said, this may be the last update for a while, but I probably have time to update once more. If I work fast, I can have an update by Monday afternoon. I make no promises though! Bear with me these last couple of insane school days! Believe me I want nothing more than to sit and write for you guys! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I also hope I did somewhat of a good job at describing the asthma attack that Clove had. I know nothing of asthma, and I briefly researched it. So review or PM any concerns, comments, likes, dislikes, etc… If you do not have an account on fanfiction, don't worry you can still let me know what you think! Until next chapter! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games, but I will own JHutch and Alexander Ludwig one day. But for now, I am a loser :'( **

**Waah! The story is coming to an end! I really enjoyed writing this one, and I hope you guys have enjoyed reading it so far. I must admit, you may want to keep some Kleenex handy. I almost cried as I wrote this. Without further ado… **_**[Holy crap, I made a mistake guys. Not major, I think. Cato is from District 2 not 1. I'm a loser!] **_

_Her Tragic End_

~ Cato ~

Clove and I go over the remaining supplies. We have enough food for a couple of days. I am glad Clove is so bright. She thought of loading up her bag today. I have just a couple of crackers, dried fruit, two apples, and one big bottle of water. I search the boy from 3 and find nothing useful. One sleeping bag, which belonged to Peeta, survived. We pack it up and go on our way. We move swiftly through the forest. However, Clove begins to cough and wheeze again. I stop and make her sit down. She doesn't protest; it's not like she can. I sit her on a rock while she wheezes violently. I caress her face trying to soothe her.

"Deep, slow breathes little one," I remind her over and over.

After a couple of minutes, she stops wheezing. The cannon blares twice and we both look up. I don't worry too much about who has died. I only care that Clove is breathing and alive. I help her and hold her hand as we walk. I keep my sword ready for any attack. Katniss seems to be on a roll. She almost killed us with the tracker jackers and now she has blown up our supplies. She is dangerous, and I have to get rid of her soon. I am pulled out of my thoughts when Clove coughs again.

"We need the medicine," I tell her as I hand her my bottle of water. "Enobaria can get it for you."

"No," she gasps. "I'm fine. We need to save the sponsors for a real emergency. I'm not dying, yet."

"Why do you have to be so stubborn," I say rolling my eyes. "I'm sure we have plenty of sponsors."

"I said no," she says fiercely. "I am not going to look weak in front of Panem. I am strong. I am a Soto."

"Fine," I surrender. "Fine, but next time you have a bad attack, we're asking for the medicine."

"Fine."

"Fine." I chuckle.

We pick up the pace and soon we reach the place we left Marvel. However, he's nowhere to be found and neither is Rue. We walk the perimeter of the clearing, and I find blood.

"Look blood," Clove calls from across the clearing.

"I found blood over here too," I say going over to her.

"She got him," Clove says shaking. "She got Marvel. She was here, and we missed her! All because of my stupid asthma."

It takes me a while to think through what may have happened. Katniss showed up to help Rue, and Marvel killed Rue. Out of anger, Katniss shot him with her handy bow and arrow. Shit. This could only mean she's good with the bow. Now we know how she got that eleven.

"Don't worry little one," I grab her hand tightly in both of mine. "We will get her. I promised you didn't I?"

"Yes you did," she kisses my nose. "You also promised me-"

She doesn't finish and for that I'm thankful. I know she's about to remind me of the promise I made her before the interviews. Cladius Templesmith's voice rings throughout the arena.

"Congratulations to the six remaining tributes!" He shouts cheerfully. "I have some delightful news. After serious consideration, the Game Makers have decided there will be a slight change of rules…"

"Rules?" Clove snorts. "I wasn't aware there were rules."

"Hush little one," I listen intently.

"… two victors this year." Clove and I look at each other. "If both are from the same district and are the last ones standing. Good night and may the odds be ever in your favor!"

Silence reigns for what feels like an eternity. I am locked in my little one's eyes. I can't tear my eyes from her. I see tears beginning to form. Suddenly, she jumps into my arms. I seek out her lips, and we kiss. She opens her mouth allowing me entrance. Our tongues fight for dominance, and we both moan. Before we know what we're doing, our clothes begin to come off. We forget the cameras. We forget where we are. There's only my little one and I.

It is only when we're both spent and satisfied that we address the news Templesmith has given us.

"We can both be victors after all," Clove says dreamily as she lies in my arms.

"We can," I say happily.

"Now we just have to get rid of four," she looks up at me. "Only four tributes, and we'll be home!"

"Together forever," I intertwine my fingers with hers.

Is the middle of the night, and we are hunting as usual. We walk holding each other's hands. We don't care anymore that The Capitol sees we're in love. In fact, it is best they see it. It's best they all know we are together and together we make a good team. It's best they know we will kill the tributes that are left.

The next couple of days, we spent searching for the remaining tributes. Clove and I are mostly worried about finding Katniss and Peeta. They are the only real threat around. I begin to grow tired and anxious of going around in the heat searching for the others. Clove is growing weary too, and at night the cold temperatures make her asthma much worst. She wheezes and coughs more often, but she still refuses to ask Enobaria for her medicine.

"We need food," she said when I told her for the umpteenth time that she needed medicine. "We are running low and the other tributes are nowhere to be seen. We will die of starvation if we don't get food."

In some way, I see her logic. But a part of me worries and fears losing her. We are so close to the end and now both of us can go home. I sigh in relief after a particularly bad attack passes. We did in fact ended up receiving food from Enobaria. We received enough supplies for another two days. The worst part was that we had reached the end of those two days.

"Clove," I say with pain. "We need to get you that medicine."

She lies on the ground panting and struggling to get used to breathing properly again. This one attack made me think I was truly going to lose her. She had stopped breathing altogether, but I managed to bring her back by giving her mouth to mouth. She and I were really pushing our luck by not getting her the medicine.

"I told you no," she says sitting up and drinking the last drops of water. "We need supplies."

"We need medicine!" I shout angry. "I'm not losing you Clove."

She looks into my eyes; she must see the pain she's causing me by slowly killing herself. "Fine," she sighs. "We-" The trumpets cut her off.

"Hello my remaining Tributes," Cladius Templesmith begins. "I would like to invite every single one of you to a feast!" Clove and I light up and listen more to what our good, old friend Cladius has to say. "The feast will take place at the Cornucopia at dawn. Now, I know some of you have already dismissed my invitation, but this is no ordinary feast. At the feast, there will be a bag with your district number and inside will be something each one of you desperately need. Think twice before dismissing this golden opportunity. For some of you, this is your last chance at survival. Good luck!"

I turn to Clove and see excitement in her eyes. We both know this is it. This is the end. At the feast, we are sure to kill the other tributes and as a bonus get supplies and maybe even Clove's medicine. We walk hand in hand back to the Cornucopia eating the last of the crackers and sharing Clove's reserved water. We come up with a plan as we pass the water back and forth.

Clove will hide in the Cornucopia and send her knives flying at the tributes that approach to grab their bag. I will stay hidden in the trees and watch out for her. If I see anyone threaten her, I send my spear flying.

Soon, we reach the Cornucopia. We circle the area making sure there are not tributes hiding already. We know it's too early for them to hide out and wait for the feast. In this case, it helps our plans that there's no one around. I equip Clove with the sleeping bag and my own jacket, so she's warm inside the Cornucopia. I grab her face between my hands and caress her sweetly. I lean down to kiss her.

"Be careful," I say as I let go.

"Always am," she replies with a confident smile. "We'll see each other soon."

"I look forward to it," I whisper as I watch her run towards the Cornucopia.

She gives me thumbs up before she goes in and hides inside until dawn. I take my own place behind the bushes with several spears and my sword ready. All we have left is to wait.

~ Clove ~

I slip in and out of consciousness throughout the night. However, when light begins to light up the arena, adrenaline kicks in and I stay wide awake. Dawn is near and so is the feast. When enough light finally lights up the area around the Cornucopia, I see the table at the entrance of it. I take my cue to move to the back exit of the Cornucopia. I crouch and wait outside for the first tribute to step up.

Silent reigns over the arena; even the birds remain silent. I tense and pull my first knife ready to strike anything that moves. Suddenly, I see red moving fast towards the table. It's the girl from 5. I can barely see her number when she disappears. I curse under my breath. She surprised me with her speed that I missed killing her. No matter, I am truly waiting for Katniss. And she comes soon after. She runs towards the table. I jump out from behind the Cornucopia and send a knife flying at her forehead. Her eyes go wide and she crouches. In the seconds it takes me to pull out another knife, she has her bag around her fingers. I send a knife flying at her as she turns. I cut her above the right eyebrow. The blood blinds her, and she slows down significantly. I chase after her. She's just a couple of feet away from me. I jump on her and we stumble on the ground. We roll around for a while, but she's not match for me. Soon, I have her pinned on the ground with my knees on her shoulders.

"Where's your boyfriend Katniss?" I sneer. "Where's Peeta the traitor."

"He's out there hunting Cato," she pants. "Peeta!"

I punch her in the throat cutting off her air and stopping her from speaking anymore. I know she lies about Peeta being out there, but I won't take any chances.

"Liar!" I shout. "I saw where Cato injured him to the point of death. If it hadn't been for me, your boyfriend would have had his head cut off. Did he tell you that? Did he tell you I saved his life?" I laugh. "What you got in the bag 12? The medicine for lover boy? It's too bad he won't be saved. Doesn't it suck that you won't help him? Just like you couldn't help Rue."

I look down at the belt of knives strapped to my body. I select an exceptionally sharp and curved knife. I grasp the knife tightly and position it on Katniss' throat. "Cato promised to kill you for me, but I asked him to let me have you. I promised to give the audience a good show. I'm going to kill you just like we did Rue." I pause. "Now, where to start?" I run my knife lightly over her face and pause on her lips. "I don't think you'll need your lips anymore. Let's get started." I laugh triumphantly. "I promise this will hurt a lot." I cut lightly over her lips. I am high on the victory that I have Katniss at my mercy. All the hatred that accumulated from watching her steal the spotlight at the Opening Ceremony comes rushing back.

I am jerked back out of nowhere. I yelp in anger and surprise. I find myself face to face with the brute from eleven, Thresh. I look at him with disgust and slowly, I move my hand towards my knives.

"What did you do to the little girl?" He shouts in my face. "Did you kill her?"

"It wasn't me!" I shout trying to distract him.

"I heard you say her name," he growls. "Did you cut her up like you were going to cut this one?"

"I said it wasn't me!" I grasp the knife. "It was Marvel, but he's dead!"

"I don't believe you!" He rips the belt off and with it goes my knives. He sends the belt flying on top of the Cornucopia.

I act fast and with my feet, I kick him the jaw. He jerks backwards and releases me. I turn around and run. I don't make it far when Thresh grabs my feet and makes me fall face down on the ground. He drags my legs towards him. "Cato!" I screech hoping he'll send a spear flying at Thresh. He turns me around, and I see a rock the size of a loaf of bread. Everything moves in slow motion. Thresh moves his hand slowly down on me. "CATO!" I scream desperately.

Off into the distance, way too far, I hear my name. "CLOVE!"

My last thought as the rock nears me is that Cato broke his promise. He promised I'd die by his hand. I let a tear roll down my cheek. At least he'll survive and go home. At least I know he'll avenge me. At least I know he loved me, and I loved him until the very end. The rock makes contact with my temple…

_Revenge_

"CATO!" I hear Clove's pained voice off into the distance.

"CLOVE!" I respond as I run as fast as I can. "CLOVE!" I burst through the trees and into the Cornucopia. I see Katniss running one direction, and Thresh running the opposite. Then, I see my love lying on the ground. I run to her and kneel.

"NO!" I scream until my voice gives out. "Stay with me Clove," I caress her hair. "Please stay with me! Don't do this Clove!" Tears fall down on her face. I kiss her cold lips. "We were supposed to be together forever, Clove." I cry as I rest my head on her chest. "I'm sorry." I whisper. "I'M SORRY!"

Her death was my fault. I shouldn't have followed the girl from 5. I should have stayed put watching out for Clove. I made the stupid mistake of being too confident and now the only girl I ever loved and will always love is gone. I look to where Thresh ran. To my surprise I find him still standing there with the bag that was meant for Clove and me in his hands. He gives me a smile that tells me he did it. He is the responsible for the death of my little one. I scream bloody murder as he turns and disappears into the forest. I kiss Clove's cold lips one last time.

"I broke my promise little one," I say choking on my sobs. "I broke so many promises to you. But I swear on our love, that I will avenge you. I swear to you I will win sweetheart!" I run after Thresh.

I faintly hear the cannon that announces the death of my Clove through the beating of my shattered heart. Tears stream down my face as I run faster than I ever thought I was capable of.

"District 11!" I shout as I hear footsteps not too far from me. "I'm going to cut you to pieces! You are going to pay!" My voice cracks and thunder shakes the ground.

Rain begins to pour out of nowhere. Soon, I am completely drenched. By the end of the day, I haven't caught Thresh. I collapse on the wet ground; it hasn't stopped raining all day long. I look up at the pouring rain, and I let my tears fall and join the many raindrops falling on the dirt. I feel weak and ready to give up. I have no reason to live. My reason for existing is gone. Gone and never to return. I'm never going to see her green eyes. I'm never going to see her smile or kiss her lips. I'm never going to make love to her again. Her dark and beautiful hair is never to be touched by my hands.

I think of just lying here. I hope Thresh finds me and kills me. Maybe I'll join Clove wherever she is. I close my eyes and drift off into sleep.

I open my eyes, and I see Clove lying next to me. She opens her eyes and smiles. "Don't give up, Cato." She wipes my tears away with her fingertips. "Don't give up my love. Live for me. Live and remember me."

"Clove…" I choke out and she disappears before I can touch her or apologize and tell her how much I love her.

I sit up abruptly and look around me. It was only a dream. But I feel better. I know she wants me to keep going. She wants me to avenge her.

"I will live for you," I say as I get up. "I will live for us." I take one step. "I will remember and cherish our love," I walk through the rain. "Forever, Clove."

I walk for days but find no signs of Thresh. I am almost out of it when I hear footsteps. I spin around and see Thresh step forward. I glare at him with all the hatred in the world. I ready my spear and throw it at him. He steps aside easily. I know I am weak. I haven't eaten and the only source of water I had was from licking the raindrops off of the leaves. He circles me.

"Is that all you got District 2?" He says with no real emotion. "You have been screeching ways to kill me all this time, and this is all you got?" He shakes his head. "I was hoping for a real fight. I was hoping to enjoy this. Make you pay for all that you and your pack have done."

"I will make you pay for killing Clove," I snarl.

"She deserved it," he shrugs. "You all do. But we don't. Rue didn't!" He shouts then composes himself. "Come at me District 2." He spreads his arms.

I run at him and grab him by the stomach. I pin him against a tree. He punches me in the gut. I collapse clutching my stomach. I look up and see he's holding a small can in his hands.

"I found this in your bag," he says. "Everything was useful to me but this since I don't have asthma. Do you need this?"

I scream out incoherently and try not to cry in front of this brute. But it breaks my heart to see we had the medicine. We had the damn medicine that would keep Clove alive for the rest of the games, but she's dead and no longer needs it. I stand up and feel stronger than I ever did before. This is my time to avenge Clove. This is the time to end everything. I stand up straight and smile at Thresh.

"Come at me District 11," I repeat his words. "Come at me."

He runs at me, but I am prepared this time. I bring my fist to his face and break his nose. He staggers backwards. When he recovers, he launches himself at me once more. He hits me on the side of the head with his fist. I grab his broken nose with my fingers and twist it. He screams out in pain and leans down to grab a rock. I remain motionless as he screams bloody murder and runs at me. Once he's near me, I pull out my sword faster than he can step back. I bring my sword down and cut his outstretched hand off. He kneels on the ground looking at his missing limb and trying to stop the bleeding.

I smile and stand in front of him. "You killed the love of my life. You shouldn't have done that!" I raise my sword; he doesn't even try to defend himself. "This is for you Little One," I feel tears roll down my cheeks as I behead Thresh. His head rolls a couple of feet away, and I laugh at the sight of it. I laugh as I hear the cannon go off.

_His Tragic End_

"I did it Clove," I look up at the sky. "I did it little one. I finally followed through on one of my promises. I will kill the others for you. I will win."

I grab the can that contains Clove's medicine and stuff it in my pocket. It reminds me of her. It makes me feel closer to her. I search Thresh for any supplies, but I find none. No matter, the end is near. I make my way back to the Cornucopia hoping to find something left behind by any of the other tributes. However, as I walk, I find Thresh bags hidden behind a tree. I grab them and rummage through them. I find water and some soup. I eat it all hungrily with crackers and wash it down with water. I also find armor on his bag. I put it on knowing it will protect me from Katniss' arrows.

I have just resumed my walking when I hear a twig snap behind me. I turn around with a smile on my lips sure that it is a tribute. From behind the trees, green eyes stare back at me. I'd recognize those green eyes anywhere. I have seen them countless times. Those beautiful green eyes looked at me with anger, joy, pain, and love for years. I shake my head, it can't be! From behind the trees steps out a muttation. Not what I expected at all. Without another thought, I run. The mutt follows me immediately and soon enough, I hear more mutts joining him or her?

I run faster pushing my aching legs and body to stay alive. I am not dying. I am not letting my little one down. I have to kill District 12 and win. I jump out of the way of their claws and teeth. At some point, I throw my sword at one of them, and it falls dead. I grab a spear and throw it at another one. They are too many! I can't kill them all. One of them manages to scratch my face. The blood running down my face makes it hard for me to see. Suddenly, I see something golden. The Cornucopia. I burst through the trees. I briefly register both Peeta and Katniss sitting by the lake. Katniss aims her bow at me and fires. The armor blocks the arrow. I keep on running ignoring them. Hopefully they'll see the muttations too late. Hopefully those mutts will tear them to pieces. I focus on getting to the Cornucopia. I reach it and immediately climb.

Once I'm at the top, I double over and puke what I took from Thresh. I gasp for air. My legs and lungs are on fire, and I feel like I'm going to die. I hear both Katniss and Peeta scream at each other to climb. I want to kill them, but I can't move anymore. I have to recover. I see the mutts are assembled at the base of the Cornucopia. For a second, I wonder if those things can climb.

I hear Katniss shriek in fear. "What is it Katniss?" Peeta asks.

"It's them!" She exclaims.

"Who?"

"All of them!" The panic in her voice is audible even to me in the state I am. "It's all the tributes!"

I look up startled. So I hadn't imagined it. The eyes of that one mutt were just like Clove's. Those bastards! Did they really use Clove's eyes for their sick and twisted mutts? Did they really defile my love? I growl, and I realize I am gaining back my strength. Soon, I'll get rid of the last remaining tributes. I wait for Katniss to be distracted since she's the real threat. I grab Peeta in a choke hold and step away from Katniss as she realizes what I have done. She loads her bow and points it at me.

"If you shoot me," I laugh. "He does down with me."

She hesitates, and I see the wheels in her head turning. She's looking desperately for a way to end this.

"It seems we have reached an impasse," I chuckle. "I tell you what. You drop the arrow and bow below where the mutts are, and I kill you both quickly."

She ignores me and continues to search for a place to hit me. Suddenly, I feel Peeta's finger make a cross on my hand. I wonder what that means. I see Katniss point her arrow at my hand, and I see what she's going to do a little too late. She shoots me in my hand, and I fall backwards. I hadn't realized I was so close to the edge. I feel the wind knocked out me, but I have no time to get up or regain my breath when the mutts are upon me. They tear at the armor. When they remove the armor, they tear at my flesh. I scream out in pain. I remember then the knife I took from Clove before the feast. I manage to pull it out and claw at the mutts with it. It's no use. The Capitol is dragging it long. They are enjoying my pain.

"Please!" I shout to Enobaria who I'm sure has masterminded this end for me. She's avenging my failure at keeping Clove alive. I know I deserve this pain, but I am tired. I want to join Clove wherever she is. "Please end this!" I moan as I spit blood out. I can see sunlight over the horizon. The mutts have been at it all night long. "Clove, Clove," I whisper. "I tried."

I hear the sound of an arrow and then peace…

**Holy shit! I am on a roll here! Tell me, did I make you cry? Did your throat feel tight? I know mine did! Well, this is the end of the original story. I am continuing it with the epilogue to this ending, the alternate ending, and the epilogue to the alternate ending. I hope you guys enjoyed this! I pushed myself to write this for you all because you're so awesome! Let me know what you think and hope to see in the alternate ending and epilogues in a review or PM. Much love and until next time!**


	7. A Trip Down Memory Lane

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games, if I did Cato and Clove would have won.**

**Thanks for all the love and support! I am truly thankful that you guys like my work :) Well, here is the alternate ending. I wrote the epilogue to the previous ending, but I am not sure whether I should post it. It's not very interesting. I dunno. Anyway, without further ado… the alternate ending. **

_A Trip Down Memory Lane _

My six year old son, Alexander holds my hand tightly as he bounces up and down in excitement. He cannot believe we are visiting the place Mommy and Daddy fought twenty-two tributes and won. I cannot believe it either. I never wanted to set foot again on the place that almost killed my Little One and me. Even though there were moments and memories I treasure, I do not want to remember how close we both had come to losing each other. However, Clove wanted to come back to the arena as tourist, and I didn't question her. I can never deny my Little One anything.

"Daddy!" Little Pita shouts from her mother's arms. "Are we there yet?"

"Almost sweetheart," I caress her cheek with my left hand.

"Dad," Alexander demands my attention. "Look!" He points to the window, and I can see the lake we had made camp long ago. I smile at my son with fake enthusiasm. I feel Clove's hand on my shoulder. I turn to look at her; her beauty never ceases to amaze me. Her olive skin, black hair, green eyes and gorgeous lips. She's all mine.

"Cato," she begins. "I'm not sure this was a good idea anymore."

"Oh Little One," I pull her towards me. "It was. We need closure, and the children need to know what happened."

"They are so little," she sobs. "Pita is only three, she can't understand… And Alex, he's not ready."

"He is." I kiss her forehead. "In six years, he'll have to begin training. He needs to know how important it will be that he gives his everything. And Pita, she's smarter than you think."

The hovercraft touches the ground. Alex becomes more excited and begins pulling me towards the exit. "Come on!" He pulls me, and I smile reassuringly at Clove.

"It'll be fine."

"Ladies and gentlemen," the tour guide begins. "We are pleased to welcome you to the arena of the 74th Hunger Games. I'd like to take this opportunity to point out that you may not take anything from the arena. Stealing is punishable by death. Thank you and enjoy your visit!"

The group splits up. Some go down to the Launch Room while others go directly to the main attraction: the Cornucopia. We follow that group and soon find ourselves staring at golden glory of the Cornucopia.

"Wow," Alex says in awe. "This is where the bloodbath happened right?" I nod. "Cool!"

I hear sobs behind me. I turn around and find Clove hugging Pita tightly as she cries. "Mommy," Pita pats her mother's head sweetly. "Don't cry mommy."

"Clove," I approach my girls. "What's wrong Little One?"

"Our son," Clove looks as Alex walks around with eyes wide. "He cannot think this is cool. He cannot. This place is a nightmare."

"I know," I say sadly. "This is why it was a good idea to bring them here. We'll tell him he cannot think like we used to. He'll learn the truth today."

When Clove is more composed, we approach Alex. "Alex," I grab his hand. "Would you like to hear the rest of the story?"

"You mean…" his blue eyes remind me too much of me as he looks excitedly at me. "The whole story?"

"Yes," I nod sitting with him under the shade. "The whole story."

Clove puts Pita down and she runs to sit in front of me with her little feet crossed under her. Her green eyes look solemnly at me. Clove sits next to Alex, so he's in the middle. She ruffles his blond hair and kisses the top of his head lovingly.

"You have to promise not to interrupt." She says to him. "Both of you. Don't interrupt Daddy until he's done."

"Me?" I chuckle. "I think I'll need your help to tell the story."

"You remember it like it was yesterday." She says looking at her hands. "I try not to."

I nod. "Ok," I grab Pita's tiny hand in mine. I need something that will keep me from losing myself in the past. I need something to keep me from going insane. "Where did I leave off?"

"They announced the feast," Alex adds helpfully. "Mom went to hide inside the Cornucopia, and you stayed hidden and watching out for Mom."

"Right," I chuckle at how good his memory is. "Well, your mom was waiting outside the Cornucopia…"

From behind the bushes, I see Clove's shocked expression as Red grabs her bag and runs. I stand up as I see the girl from 5 run into the woods again. I chase after her knowing this is our last chance at getting rid of her. Red is sly and fast. All throughout the games, she has been hiding. I know I am close to her because I can hear her feet pounding on the ground. I stop when I no longer hear her running. Swiftly, I approach her. She is seating down breathing heavily. Being as silent as I can, I pull out a spear. As she leans down to open her bag, I throw my spear. She hears the spear flying at her, and she looks up with wide eyes. The spear goes through her forehead. I step forward with a smile on my face. The cannon sounds announcing her death. Just as I am about to pull out the spear, I hear Clove scream.

"CATO!" My heart sinks. Clove is in danger.

I sprint through the woods driven by terror and anger. If anyone hurts my little one, I will rip them apart.

"CATO!" She screams again.

"CLOVE!" I scream as I push my feet to run faster.

Through the trees, I can see Clove fighting Thresh off. She lands a kick on his jaw, but he recovers quickly and slaps her. Clove falls on the ground face down. I burst through the trees just as Thresh breaks Clove's leg. The terrible sound of her bone breaking is covered by her screams of pain. Thresh grabs a rock the size of my fist and brings it down towards Clove.

"Cato!" She screams through her pain.

I see red as I drive my sword through Thresh's stomach. I twist and drag it down on his back. The blade is so sharp it splits his back open and from the front I can see his entrails falling on the ground.

"Run girl on fire," he chokes out. I pull out my sword and turn around to find Katniss sitting paralyzed on the ground. "Run!" Thresh shouts with his last breath as he crumbles on top of Clove.

I ignore Katniss as she tears away from us with her bag over her shoulder. I turn to Clove and push Thresh off of her. I pull her in my arms and kiss her forehead as the cannon blares announcing Thresh's death. Clove is sweating and moaning in pain.

"You're ok," I say as I examine her broken leg. "You'll be ok. You did great."

"I thought-" she pants. "I thought I was going to die. I thought you wouldn't get here on time."

"Shh," I kiss her lips. "You're not dying. Not on my watch. I'll always be here to save you. Though I'm sorry he hurt you like this."

"Technicalities." She smiles. "What did we get on the bag?"

"First let's take care of that leg."

I look around for wood that looks light enough to place it on either side of Clove's leg. I find a large piece and cut it in half. Taking my jacket off of Clove, I tear the fabric into large pieces and tie up the wood on either side of Clove's leg with it.

"It's the best I can do." I say.

"It's perfect," she grabs my hand. "Thank you." She begins to cough.

"All right," I grab the bag with our number on it. "Let's see if Enobaria got us that medicine."

I find cans of soup and water bottles in the bag, but I find no medicine. I empty the bag on the ground, and soon enough I find another can bigger than the others. I open it and find Clove's asthma inhaler and a syringe.

"Did she?" Clove asks as I approach her.

"She did," I smile and hand her the inhaler. "Here, before you have another attack."

As she is inhaling her medication, I jam the needle in her arm. "Ouch," she smacks me lightly in the arm. "You could have warned me."

"I know you don't like needles." I smile. I look up at the sky and see the sun setting. "We have to get going, but I don't want to move you with that broken leg."

"I'm fine," she sits up. "I can't feel it anymore."

"That's not a good sign," I say with my heart on my throat.

"We have to find them," she ignores my panic. "It's just Katniss and Peeta. He's going to get better now that Katniss has the medicine."

"I know," I sigh.

"I'm sorry," she whispers. "I should have let you kill him."

"Don't worry," I lay down next to her. "We'll get him. Besides, I know you care for him."

She pauses. "I do." She turns her head to me. "You'll kill him fast right?"

"I promise I'll make it quick." I kiss her forehead. "Come on, I'll carry you to the top of the Cornucopia."

"No," she says as I pick her up. "Let's go find them."

"You can't walk." I protest going to the Cornucopia.

"We have to end this once and for all," she says logically. "I want to go home and live my life with you by my side."

"Me too," I sigh knowing she has won once again. "You stay on top of the Cornucopia, and I go find them."

"No, I'm going," she pushes me. I set her down and she holds on to the side of the Cornucopia. "Find me a stick. I'm going. I still have to kill Katniss."

"You're in no condition to kill anyone." I say as I find her a sturdy stick. "You'll only slow me down."

"Then kill me now!" She shouts angry. "If I am that useless then just kill me!"

"I didn't say that," I groan. "We're wasting time."

"Then let's go." She shoves me angrily away.

"Wait," I grab her hand, and she pulls away. "Where are your knives?" I ask instead of concentrating on the fact that she's angry with me.

"Shit," she groans. "Thresh threw them on top of the Cornucopia."

I look up and soon enough I see them glistening in the setting sun. "I'll go get them." I run back to the Cornucopia and climb it quickly. Once I'm at the top, the sky darkens completely. I look to where Clove is standing, but she's gone. She's slowly limping towards the woods.

"Clove!" I shout grabbing the knives quickly. "Wait!" As I'm climbing down, I see them burst through the trees. Mutts. "CLOVE!"

She sees them at the same time I scream her name, and she stops frozen in place. I jump from the Cornucopia and run after Clove. She is slowly running back to me. Her eyes are wide in fear. The mutts are getting closer to her. Pulling one of her knives, I send one flying at a mutt that almost chewed Clove's head off. I hit the mutt in the eye, and it falls on the ground. Another steps up just as I reach Clove. I stab the mutt on the skull with another knife. Pulling her up in my arms, I turn around and run back to the Cornucopia. I push her up and climb after her before a mutt claws at my back.

We're lying on top of the Cornucopia both of us breathing heavily. "Don't ever do that again!" I shout as I hug Clove to me. She shakes her head.

"I'm sorry," we both say at the same time.

"Why are you apologizing?" I ask her. "I made you feel useless. I'm sorry."

"No," she hugs me. "You were just trying to protect me, and I almost got us killed."

"It's all right," I kiss her.

"What are we going to do?" She asks after listening to the mutts growling in frustration that they can't reach us.

"I don't know," I say honestly. "They are too many. We can't get rid of all of them."

Suddenly, the mutts stop and turn around. I stand up and watch as they turn to each other and run away from the Cornucopia. Frowning, I watch them go. Thresh's bag grabs my attention as I am thinking why the mutts would just up and leave. I wonder what he needed the most.

"Clove," I turn around and sit next to where she's lying.

"Are they gone?" She looks around.

"Yeah," I grab my sword. "I'm going to get Thresh's bag. There may be something that will help us."

"No," she says grabbing my arm tightly. "What if it's a trap and the mutts are just waiting for one of us to go down there?"

"Only one way to find out," I kiss her and jump down from the Cornucopia. I run towards the bag and grab it. Before I know it, I am back in Clove's arms. "That was easy." I laugh even though I was pretty nervous about the mutts coming back.

"Let's see then," Clove says kissing my jaw. She opens the bag and finds more food and armor. "This is going to block Katniss' arrows." She says looking at the armor and laughing. "Put it on."

"No you put it on." I reply.

"Just put it on Cato," she says with a firm voice.

"Fine," I put on the armor. "How do I look?"

"Handsome," she laughs just as we hear the mutts again.

"They are back," I grab my sword.

The bushes rattle and through them steps out Katniss followed by Peeta. My eyes widen as I realize what the game makers have done. They have made Clove and me too afraid to move from here. They sent them mutts to drive District 12 out of their hiding place. The Capitol wants this to be over. Katniss is running ahead of Peeta, and she's the first to reach the Cornucopia. Peeta reaches her soon after, and she helps him climb first. Peeta bends down and offers his hand out to Katniss.

"Take my hand!" He shouts desperately. "Come on!"

Katniss gives Peeta her hand, but a mutt reaches her and drags her down. "No!" Peeta shouts desperately. "Katniss!"

The mutts drag her down as she screams out in pain. Peeta looks ready to jump down and help her when Clove grabs him and pulls him back. I look confused as Clove struggles to keep Peeta from jumping off the Cornucopia.

"Let him little one," I say through Katniss' screams. "He is going to die anyway."

"Not that way!" Clove shouts just as she knocks Peeta out. "He's not being torn to pieces by those things."

"Please end this!" Katniss draws our attention.

I look down and see she's looking up at the sky. She is torn here and there and blood is flowing freely. Clove approaches the edge and holds on to me. She looks down at Katniss with an expression I have never seen on my little one's face: compassion. Clove pulls out a knife from the belt strapped to my body and throws it without missing a beat at Katniss' throat. Katniss stops screaming.

"I'm going to kill him anyway," I say several minutes later as Clove and I sit watching Peeta sleep. A while ago, the mutts left once Katniss stopped screaming. The cannon announced her death.

"I didn't want him to die like that," she says quietly trying to keep the audience out of the loop.

"Then we have to do it soon," I whisper back. "The Capitol will get bored and send something else to finish him or us off."

"I know." She says. "But we can't kill him in cold blood. He should have a chance at defending himself."

"Why are you protecting him so much?" I growl. "I told you next time I would kill him, and you weren't going to intervene." I stand up with my sword in hand ready to end Peeta's life.

"No," Clove whispers. "Please Cato. Let him wake up. I want to say goodbye." I see tears swell up in her eyes. "Please. He became like a brother to me."

I sigh and sit back down next to Clove. "Fine." I put my arm around her. "You'll get your goodbye."

Soon enough, Peeta wakes up. He groans. "Katniss?"

"She's dead," I snap.

Peeta sits abruptly and looks at Clove, then at me, and back to Clove. "Why didn't you let me help her!"

"You couldn't Peeta." Clove says sadly. "The mutts would have torn you to pieces like they did her."

"I loved her!" Peeta cries. "I could have saved her!"

"No you couldn't you idiot boy," I snap. "Be thankful Clove saved your life again."

He looks up with a frown on his face. "Why did you save me? You could have saved her!"

"Peeta," Clove begins. "There was nothing we could do. The Capitol would have found another way to kill us all. Besides they were too many."

"So you just let her die?" Peeta spat. "I thought you were different Clove. But you are just like all of them. You two are perfect for each other. Two heartless killers."

"She killed Katniss," I say when I see Clove's dismayed expression. "Clove spared Katniss more pain."

"What?" Peeta stops in his crazy rant.

"The game makers were probably going to drag on her pain for more entertainment," I explain. "She could have suffered more, but Clove ended her life after Katniss asked for it all to end."

Silence settles between us. I wonder what the Capitol is making of all of this. I wonder how pissed off President Snow is that we're not tearing each other apart. Peeta looks torn between hating and embracing Clove. Suddenly, he approaches her. He extends his hand out to her. I grab my sword and stand up.

"Calm down Cato," Peeta says. "You'll get to kill me. I don't want to live without Katniss. I can't. There's no life for me without her."

In that moment, I connect with the boy I hated so much. He and I aren't that different. We both have women we love that we would die for them. In his case, he would die with her. I know if the roles were reversed, I would want to die with Clove too. I step aside and help Clove stand up. Peeta pulls Clove into a hug.

"Thanks," he chokes out. "Thanks for sparing Katniss more pain even though I know you would have liked to inflict her pain." They both chuckle. I look into the rising sun. "Thanks for everything lover girl."

"You're welcome lover boy," Clove says half sobbing and half laughing. "I love you like the brother I never had." I hear her whisper in his ear. "I wish we had more time."

"Me too," Peeta responds. "You have to do it."

Clove pulls back and stares at Peeta with wide eyes. "No," she gaps. "I can't do it."

"Yes you can," Peeta grabs her face in his hands. "I want to die by the hand of someone I know and knows me. I want to die by the hand of a good friend, a sister."

"Peeta," Clove hugs him again. "I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize," he pats her head. "This is the Hunger Games remember?"

"I'll miss you," I see Clove slowly pull out a knife from the belt tied around me. "Goodbye Lover Boy." She drives the knife through Peeta's heart.

I hug Clove as she cries remembering how she had to kill someone she loved. Alex and Pita remain quiet as they see their mother cry with such pain. Pita can't stand it anymore and gets up from where she was sitting. She hugs her mother and kisses her.

"Don't cry mommy," Pita repeats over and over.

I stare off at the Cornucopia as Pita consoles Clove. I am lost in my own thoughts when Alex pulls my sleeve. I turn and see he has tears in his blue eyes. I hug him and pull him toward me.

"What happened after that Dad?" Alex asks after a while.

"Well," I begin. "Your mom and I won."

"That easily?" Pita asks.

"You're too smart you know," I smile at her. "You're like your mom."

"What do you mean?" Alex asks with a frown. "I thought that was the only year two victors were allowed."

"We thought so too son," I reply with a sigh.

Clove falls on her knees after killing Peeta. She cries violently as the cannon announces death for the last time. I am hugging Clove tightly when Templesmith speaks again.

"Congratulations the final two contestants of the 74th Hunger Games," Clove and I look at each other immediately. Both of us shocked. "The Game Makers have once again revised the rules, and it has been decided that there can only be one victor. Good luck District 2 and may the odds be ever in your favor!"

"Do it." Clove thrusts the knife she killed Peeta with in my hand. "I'm the weaker of the two."

"I'm not going to kill you just like that," I say trying to swallow the knot in my throat. "I'm not going to kill you period."

"You promised!" She shouts angrily.

"I promised it would be a fair match," I respond giving her the knife back. "Fight me. And may the strongest win."

Clove looks at her knife, and she stands up. I pull out my sword ready to fight my only love. I will follow through on my promise to let her be my equal in a fight.

"I-I-I-" she stammers out. "I can't do it."

"Clove," I grab her face in my hands. "We have to. If we don't they'll find a way to kill one us anyway. They want one winner."

Her eyes widen, and I can see she has thought of something. "What if," she pauses pulling out another knife from the belt. "What if there are no winners?" She hands me the knife and looks into my eyes.

I see she wants us to defy the Capitol. Clove wants us to kill each other. I take the knife because it's the best solution. I won't live without her, and she won't live without me. We are incapable of hurting each other. I take the knife and pull her in for a kiss.

"I love you Little One," I whisper as I position the knife on her stomach, and she positions hers on mine.

"I love you Cato," we look into each other's eyes. "Forever."

"Stop! Stop!" Templesmith roars just as we are about to push the blade inside each other's stomach. "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the victors of the 74th Hunger Games! Clove Soto and Cato King from District 2!"

"We angered a lot of people that day," I tell Alex and Pita as the sun sets over the arena and the other tourists begin returning to the hovercraft. "President Snow could have killed us, but he left us alone after we reassured him we meant nothing by our display of rebellion." I look into Clove's eyes. "We just couldn't live without each other." I smile and kiss her.

"I love you," Clove says. "All of you." She pulls Pita and Alex in for a hug.

"We love you too mommy," Alex says. "The Games are bad."

"Hush," I chastise him quietly. "Keep it to yourself."

"Why did you tell us the story?" Alex asks. "If we're not going to do anything about the bad people?"

"Because," Clove runs her hands through his blond hair. "You two need to know that killing is not glamorous. Cato and I thought it was. We desired to kill, but we found this is bad. This is tragedy. You and your sister will train for the games, but you will not volunteer. Ever. If your names are called, you'll have a chance at surviving. Do you understand Alex? Do you finally understand that The Hunger Games are not cool?"

"I understand mommy." Alex says with a fierce look. "I understand."

"We have to go," I say trying to diffuse the tension between us. "The hovercraft will leave with a couple of tourists. I don't plan on staying here."

"Agreed," Clove stands up and carries Pita in her arms.

"Was Pita named after Lover Boy?" Alex says as we make our way to the hovercraft.

"Yes she was," Clove laughs. "She was named after lover boy."

"I liked lover boy," Alex yawns. "And you two were so brave!" He puts his head on my lap. "You are awesome-"

He falls asleep. I think back to his fierce expression. I have no doubt in my mind that Alexander will bring down the Capitol one day. He will do anything for those he loves. He will die for his loved ones. I look at Clove singing to Pita, my beloved girls. I turn back to Alex and run my hands through his blond hair. He is so much like me. He's much like a boy, no a man, I once met. I rest my head on the window and watch as the arena becomes smaller until it is nothing but a memory once again.

**I hope you all liked this! I wrote several since I wasn't sure how to approach it. After much struggle, this is the final product! I hope you like it, and I hope to write an epilogue to this. Not sure. I probably won't because this sounds like a new story in the making. But anyway let me know what you would like in a review or PM me! Thanks for reading! **


	8. Epilogue 1: Loss

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games, obviously, everything belongs to Suzanne Collins.**

**Thanks for all your feedback! It truly means a lot to me! I have decided to post epilogue to the ORIGINAL ending. Since there was some confusion, I'd like to clarify: **_A Trip Down Memory Lane _**is my idea of an alternate ending. Cato and Clove DO win the games. They are alive. They are visiting the arena where they fought in the 74****th**** Hunger Games. They are older and have their children to whom they are telling the story. I hope that clears things up. Anyway, epilogue to Suzanne Collins' ending. **

_Epilogue: Loss_

Enobaria watches with pride as her only and beloved niece pins down the tribute girl from 12. Enobaria knew how much Clove hated that girl. Finally, all of Clove's hard work was going to pay off. Enobaria Soto swells with pride knowing Clove has done exceptionally well. Of course Cato was doing all right himself. He made mistakes here and there, but in the end Enobaria could see how much he loved Clove and would do anything to keep her alive. When Clove had her attacks, they almost caused Enobaria to have a heart attack. Thankfully Cato knew what to do and was there for Clove.

Enobaria frowns as she sees Clove hasn't finished the girl off. "Come on!" Brutus shouts at the screen as if Clove can hear him. "Just kill her! Stop talking!" Clove and Cato's sponsors cheer along with him.

Nodding in agreement with Brutus, Enobaria stands up and prays to whoever is listening that Clove just finishes the girl off. A sob makes Enobaria look behind her. District 12's escort is crying as she sees her tribute on the ground bleeding. Enobaria can't help but smile. It is Clove over any of the other tributes even though she does feel some kind of sympathy and pity for the mother of the child who is about to meet her end. But it's the Hunger Games, only the strongest prevail. Turning back to the screen, Enobaria sees as the camera closes in on Clove's sadistic smile. However, without warning, Clove is yanked backwards. The camera zooms out and shows the brute boy from 11. Enobaria's eyes widen, and she begins muttering under her breath.

"Come on Cato," she urges him to come bursting through the bushes and rescue Clove. "Come on Cato, do something… You promised boy."

"CATO!" Clove calls out with terror in her voice as the boy from 11 pulls her toward him. "CATO!"

"CLOVE!" is the pained response Enobaria hears echo through the arena. Everyone in the room is silent, but Enobaria can tell they are excited to see what happens. Some wish for Cato to rescue Clove, others wish for Clove to die so Cato goes on a killing spree. The romance of the ruthless tributes has the Capitol buzzing. They are split into two groups, those who prefer the romance of District 2, and those who prefer the romance of the savages.

Enobaria's heart shatters as the boy brings down the rock on Clove's temple ending her life instantly. The cameras close in briefly on Clove's empty expression. Her eyes are open and staring into nothing. Tears can be seen glistening on her pale and cold skin. Enobaria kneels and screams out her pain. Brutus tears his eyes from the screen when he hears Enobaria scream. He pulls her up and drags her away knowing she can snap easily and kill everyone in the room.

"No!" Enobaria shouts and pulls away from Brutus. "I want to see Cato. I want to see his pain."

Just as they return to the room, they see Cato crying on Clove's chest and screaming for her forgiveness. Enobaria's body shakes with sobs. She finally has enough and walks out just as Cato chases after Thresh. A part of Enobaria hopes Cato finds him and kills him. Another part of her wishes Cato dead.

"He has to live," Enobaria hears Clove's voice in her head. She looks around as she walks aimlessly away from everyone.

"Clove?" She whispers. "Clove?"

There's no one in the streets or in The Capitol building. Everyone is either at home or inside the building watching the games.

"He has to live for me," Clove's voice speaks to Enobaria again. "Help him."

"Enobaria!" She turns her head at the sound of his voice. "Oh darling, I'm so sorry!"

Seneca crushes Enobaria to his chest when he sees her. He left the control room as soon as he saw Clove die. He knew his beloved would need him now more than ever.

"Come darling," he takes Enobaria inside The Capitol Building.

"He-he-" Enobaria stutters.

"I know, I know," Seneca kisses her head. "I'll think of a way to kill him."

"No!" Enobaria comes to life. "He needs to win. He needs to. For Clove. For our daughter."

Seneca gulps. It is the first time Enobaria acknowledges Clove as theirs. It scares him. It was the reason he had left her in the first place. He wasn't ready to have a family, and Enobaria was not mentally stable to take care of a child after the games. In the end, Enobaria alone and desperate gave her daughter up to her eldest brother. She knew he would take care of her, and Enobaria could still see her.

"I'll do what I can," Seneca says letting go of her. "I have to return to the Control Room. Will you be ok?"

"No," Enobaria whispers lifeless. "I'll never be ok until The Capitol pays!"

"Hush!" Seneca shouts harshly. "Don't say those things!"

"Just go," Enobaria pushes him away. She wants to be alone with her pain.

Seneca sees the pain in Enobaria, but he still leaves. He has a duty. He has to do what he can to keep the boy alive. For his daughter and his beloved's sake.

~ P ~

Katniss bursts into the cave as Peeta is waking up. His head feels heavy, and he sees blurry. Peeta sits up, and she approaches him. Katniss is bleeding profusely, and it scares Peeta to death. He tries to get up but is incapable. Katniss shakes her head asking him to stay down. She can't speak; she's shocked and afraid. She barely escaped with her life first because Clove had come so close to killing her. It also shocked her how Thresh had let her go for Rue.

"Katniss," Peeta's voice penetrates through her confusion. He doesn't sound angry because she tricked him. No, he sounds worried. "Katniss, you're bleeding."

"I'm ok," she says. "I'm ok." She doesn't know who she's talking to, Peeta or herself. Maybe both. "Here," she opens the backpack and opens it up. Pulling out the contents, she finds a syringe and jams it into Peeta's arm. He smiles appreciatively at her; Katniss smiles back weakly and then collapses.

"Katniss?" Peeta asks panicking. "Katniss?" He takes her pulse. She's fine just tired and bleeding.

Peeta cleans up her wound but there's not much he can do. He wonders if Clove gave her that injury. Suddenly, sadness takes over him. Clove. He had come to like her and even think of her as a friend or even a sister. He shakes his head knowing she had almost killed Katniss.

"Well," he says to himself as he watches Katniss sleep. "It is the Hunger Games. Killing is the only thing you can do."

He frowns as a sudden thought hits him: Clove never fails. He saw her at the training sessions. She taught him to throw after the bloodbath. She had taught him so well. How is Katniss even alive? Unless… Peeta looks down at Katniss. It is possible she killed Clove. Like Clove, Katniss never misses. The sound of the cannon makes him jump. Then Clove's face shows up on the sky. Peeta's throat feels tight. He knows he's no supposed to feel that way for someone who was going to kill him next time she got a chance. He should not feel saddened by the thought of Clove dead when she almost killed Peeta's reason for existing.

"It's the Hunger Games," he repeats his earlier thought as he allows a tear to fall. "Goodbye lover girl."

Night falls and Katniss wakes up next to Peeta. She sits up and looks down at him. He's staring at the ceiling of the cave. Katniss can see Peeta has been crying. His eyes are a bit puffy.

"Does anything hurt?" She asks him wondering if it's the pain on his leg.

"No," he says still staring up at the ceiling. "I feel better."

"Good," she pauses. "What's wrong?"

He doesn't say anything for a while. Peeta is torn. He loves Katniss more than anything, but Clove was a good friend to him. Yes, Peeta considered Clove a friend. No, she was like a sister to him.

"Who killed Clove?" He asks finally dreading the answer.

"Thresh," Katniss replies as she touches her forehead. The wound has stopped bleeding. "She gave me this wound and soon pinned me down on the ground. She was so close to killing me."

"What happened?" Peeta feels relieved he doesn't have to hold Katniss responsible for killing Clove.

"Thresh pulled her away and started yelling at her for killing Rue," Katniss shudders thinking about Rue. "Anyway, Clove almost got away, but Thresh caught her and…" Katniss gulps. "He crushed her skull with a rock."

Peeta closes his eyes briefly but opens them soon because he can see Clove meeting her doom.

"Wait," Peeta says. "Where was Cato?"

"I don't know," Katniss replies looking around for something to eat. The loss of blood has left her weak. "I guess he was somewhere hunting for the others while Clove secured the Cornucopia."

"He didn't try to save her?" Peeta can hear disbelief in his voice. Cato loved Clove like Peeta loved Katniss. Peeta had found it easy to identify himself with Cato over the days they spent teaming up. Both boys would do anything for the women they loved. How had Cato failed Clove?

"He ran into the Cornucopia too late,"Katniss replies. "He screamed for her to stay alive. He was in so much pain. I knew they loved each other."

"Yeah they do," Peeta says quietly. "Not as much as we love each other sweetheart." He says remembering his plan with Haymitch to show the Capitol Katniss and him are the ultimate couple.

Katniss smiles tightly. She is not comfortable faking a romance when there was an actual couple. It seems like an insult to Cato and Clove's truthful love. She shakes her head. They both wanted her dead. She will not pity them. They brought all of this upon themselves. She sighs. No, no one deserved this.

"This could only mean that Cato is thoroughly pissed off," Peeta says frowning as he plays with Katniss' hair. "He's going to be hunting Thresh…"

"And then us," Katniss adds.

~ E ~

Enobaria watches as Cato walks through the woods. He looks defeated and weak. She turns to the sponsors.

"He still has potential," she says trying to sound confident though she's dead inside. "He is moved by revenge. The fight against Thresh will be one to remember. We only have to keep him going with supplies."

A couple of minutes later, she closes the deal and is ready to send food to Cato. Just as she is setting things up, she watches Thresh step out of the trees and into a clearing where Cato is almost collapsing of exhaustion and hunger. The fight immediately breaks out. Cato is weak, and Thresh soon brings him to his knees with a punch to the gut. Thresh dangles Clove's asthma medicine on Cato's face. Enobaria chokes on a sob as she sees Cato's pained expression. They both are thinking the same thing: Clove would have been ok. Enobaria cries delighted along with Cato as Thresh's head rolls around the ground.

"Sweet justice," Enobaria whispers. "Sweet revenge."

She knows she wants Cato to win; not only for Clove but also for Enobaria herself. Cato is the last person that ties her to Clove. Cato shares Enobaria's pain.

Cato doesn't make it. Brutus shakes his head as he falls off of the Cornucopia. Brutus gets up and leaves the room. District 2 has lost this year. Love made the tributes weak. Enobaria, on the other hand, cries as Cato shouts for it all to be over. The girl from 12 does him a favor by shooting her arrow at Cato's forehead. Enobaria thanks her, but she still holds hatred against the girl. Haymitch approaches Enobaria, who is sitting alone watching the end with a pained expression on her face.

"My condolences," he says as Enobaria looks up. "You have lost your daughter and the boy."

"My congratulations," Enobaria says bitterly. "You have two winners."

Haymitch opens his mouth to reply but stops when he hears Templesmith announce there can only be one winner. "Assholes," Enobaria whispers. It is classical that the Capitol pulls a stunt like that. Give hope and then take it away. "My apologies Haymitch." Enobaria says as she gets up.

"Stop! Stop! Ladies and gentlemen," Templesmith shouts stopping Enobaria on her tracks. "I give you the victors of the 74th Hunger Games!" His voice sounds strained. "Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark!"

Enobaria laughs and leaves the room. She laughs and laughs because she's losing her mind. She laughs even when Brutus tells her of Seneca's death. President Snow, unhappy with the results, had Seneca executed. It is until that night that Enobaria truly cries. She cries until she can't cry anymore. Her daughter is long gone, and she failed her. Enobaria didn't keep the boy alive. Seneca had died by as he said, 'giving an edge to the games.'

Enobaria had nothing to live for. When President Snow announces the rules for the Quarter Quell, Enobaria feels this is her chance to avenge Clove and Cato. In time, she came to see Katniss and Peeta as the responsible ones for their deaths. At the end of the Quarter Quell, Enobaria realizes Katniss is her ally. As Enobaria is being held in the Capitol, she hears of the things Katniss and the rebels are doing to bring down Snow and the Capitol. Secretly, she wishes she was along with them. But to stay alive, she has to pretend to be on the side of the Capitol.

The rebels bring down President Snow and the horror reign of The Capitol. At the end of the war, Enobaria and the remaining victors are called down to a meeting with the leader of the rebels. As soon as Enobaria walks in, she can feel the tension and dislike they all have against her. She sits next to Johanna, the lesser of the evils. President Coin begins a speech about treaties, and blah blah. Enobaria tunes out until Coin mentions another Hunger Games. This time with the children of those who were ever involved in the Games. Peeta votes no. Johanna shouts her approval.

"For Finnick!" Johanna says.

"I vote yes as well," heads turn to me. "For my Clove. For Cato. They were victims too. Both were raised under the ideas of the Capitol. Let them have a taster of their own medicine."

Those in favor end up winning the vote. The last Hunger Games were held. Enobaria watched the games alone.

"Sweet justice," Enobaria smiles as she lies down for the night. "Sweet revenge."

Her heart feels more complete knowing those who enjoyed Enobaria's loss are now feeling the same thing.

**Ok so this was pretty bad. I tried to sum the three books in and give you another perspective. I uploaded it after much thought (mostly on a whim of procrastinating writing my English paper.) Anyway, tell me how bad or eh this was. To tell you a little secret, I have begun writing another story. I know, I know. I shouldn't, but I couldn't help myself and because some of you asked me to write another one XD. This new story will take off from my alternate ending. We'll see how it goes. Also, because I like to please my readers, I will try to write what happens after Cato and Clove win until they have the kids. How does that sound? Are you tired of me? Let me know if you'd prefer me not writing anymore Hunger Games and just leave at this. Review or PM! **


	9. Epilogue 2: Forever

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games, but it's ok (:**

**Sooo. How's it going? It's going well with me too. I bullshitted my English research paper, but eh that's how I got through high school and how I'm getting through college. Oh I found out my school offers archery as PE, and I have made it my mission to take it before I leave. Oh and I got sorted into Hufflepuff in Pottermore. Dafuq. The sorting hat was high. Anyway, by demand I have written an epilogue to my alternate ending. This will go up to when Cato and Clove have the kids. Hopefully there will be lots of drama involved to keep you guys interested XD. Oh my gosh, Momo just shut up and write! Ok here it goes…**

_Epilogue: Forever_

~ Clove ~

Killing Peeta was the hardest thing I had ever done in my life. I have killed several tributes throughout the games, but Peeta's death will hunt me forever. I don't why he got so engraved in my heart. I feel as though I am becoming weak. No. I am just learning to love. Cato hugs me tighter to him as I sob harder. I pull him closer to me as the cannon sounds for the last time. Suddenly, I realize he and I can go home and a part of me is overjoyed. I look up wondering when the hovercraft will come to get us. Just then, Templesmith's voice comes on with another announcement.

"Congratulations to the last two remaining contestants of the 74th Hunger Games," Cato lets go of me, and we both look at each other. "After much deliberation, the Game Makers have revoked the earlier rule of two victors. There can only be one. Good luck District 2 and may the odds be ever in your favor."

I sigh and hold on to my stick. I get up and trust the knife I just killed Peeta with to Cato. He stares at the knife. I think he's in shock at the news Templesmith has just delivered. In some ways, I am not surprised. A small part of me knew that the Capitol was luring us into a sense of security. I knew something was going to change. I knew it was all too good to be true.

"Do it," I say to Cato. "I'm the weaker of the two."

"I'm not going to kill you," Cato says fiercely giving me the knife back.

"You promised!" I roar. "You promised that if I have to die, it will be by your hand!"

"No," he shakes his head. "I promised you a fair fight."

I laugh bitterly. "How can it be a fair fight with my injured leg? I'll lose anyway. Just do it, and save yourself."

"Fight me," he says kissing my lips fiercely. "May the stronger of the two win."

"That is you Cato," I smile sweetly and lovingly at him. "Do it. Kill me."

"Clove," he says with pain. "We don't have time for this. They will get tired and find another way to get rid of one of us. They want one winner."

My eyes widen as an idea strikes me. Quickly, I pull out another knife from the belt tied around Cato. I look up at him.

"What if," I pause as my idea truly hits me. I will be asking him to defy the Capitol. I will be asking him to defy everything we have ever known and been taught. Our entire lives, we were taught to be loyal to the Capitol. We were taught that being bloodthirsty and ruthless was the only way. The Capitol drilled into our heads that killing and the Games were the greatest. But I now know better. I know love and friendship. I just hoped Cato could see the same. "What if there are no winners at all?"

I hand him the knife as he stares at me with shock. I can see in his eyes that he understands what I want us to do.

"We can't live without each other." I whisper. "If we can't live together, let's die together."

"Forever?" He takes the knife.

"Forever," I press the knife to his stomach as he presses his to mine.

"I love you Little One," he says stepping closer so the blade is pressed completely against us.

"I love you Cato." I kiss him.

"Stop!" Templesmith stops us just as we are about to completely push the blade inside each other's stomachs. "Stop! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the victors of the 74th Hunger Games! Clove Soto and Cato King from District 2!"

Cato drops his knife and pulls me up and twirls me around. I drop mine a second later when I finally see what has happened. We have pissed the Capitol off.

~ Cato ~

The hovercraft sends the ladder down. I allow Clove to go up first so she receives medical treatment immediately. When I step into the hovercraft, I don't see Clove anywhere. I panic and ask the nearest nurse where she is.

"She is undergoing surgery." The nurse answers as she pushes me down on the table tending to my injuries.

"Can I see her?" I ask a couple of hours later.

"Not yet." The nurse answers and leaves.

I pace the room I have been thrown in. I know I have no reason to be afraid. Despite our actions in the arena, President Snow can't do anything to us. We are untouchable unless the Capitol wants everything to blow up in their faces, more than it already has. Either way, I am worried for Clove. I hope they don't hurt her, or I will kill them all. The door to my room bursts open, and Brutus walks in. At first he doesn't say anything. He is sweating and looks nervous.

"What's wrong?" I panic. "Is Clove all right?"

"Yeah, yeah." He says dismissively. "Your beloved is all right. Enobaria is with her. She's just resting from surgery."

"Good," I sigh in relief. "Everything will be better now."

"Ha!" Brutus shouts. "You think? Are you really just muscles my boy? Do you really not have brains? Tell me, do you have any idea what you and your silly girlfriend have done?"

I frown. "We had no other option. We love each other and couldn't stand thinking of living without the other."

"That is your mistake," Brutus pokes me in the chest. "You have angered The Capitol. You have defied President Snow. And now, you and Clove, and probably Enobaria and I will have to face the consequences!"

"We will deal," Enobaria walks in interrupting Brutus' crazy rant. "We will deal with Snow. For now, we can only be thankful you two have made it out of the arena alive."

Enobaria approaches me and surprisingly enough, she pulls me in for a hug. I stand awkwardly with my hands lying limply by my sides. I don't know what surprises me the most: Enobaria hugging me or the fact that Snow would actually dare to kill us.

"Thank you," Enobaria says letting go of me and clearing her throat. "Thanks Cato for bringing my Clove back."

"I had to." I say fiercely then smile. "I'm sure her parents will be happy they have a victor."

"Yes, they will finally be proud of her." Enobaria says bitterly. "They have never really loved her. How could I make the mistake…" She stops.

"What mistake?" I frown.

"Oh just tell him," Brutus throws his hands up in the air. "We're all going to die anyway. We might as well confess all our dirty secrets."

"We're not going to die," Enobaria changes the subject. "I think we can make a deal with Snow. We can say Cato and Clove are madly in love with each other, which is the truth, and they couldn't think straight. We swear loyalty to him and the Capitol."

"Like that's going to work," Brutus snorts. "I bet President Snow is already planning our downfall. He's going to kill us off for your stupid daughter's rebellion! And you too idiot boy…"

"Woah, woah," I say confused. "Whose daughter? What are you talking about? What…"

"Nothing," Enobaria says looking uncomfortable. "Brutus must be drunk."

"I wish," Brutus snorts. "If I was drunk I wouldn't give a shit whether I die or not. Just tell the boy Enobaria."

"Be quiet." Enobaria snaps.

"Tell me what?" I shout exasperated at being kept in the dark.

"Clove is Enobaria's daughter. That's what." Brutus snaps.

"What?" I ask in disbelief. How can Clove be Enobaria's mother? It just didn't make sense to me. Actually…

"She's my daughter and Seneca Crane's." Enobaria sighs and throws a dirty look at Brutus. "I went into the 62nd Hunger Games pregnant. I didn't know until I came out; it's a miracle the baby survived. After the games, I saw everyone as my enemy. Seneca couldn't handle me or having a child when he wanted a career in the Capitol. I had to give Clove up for her own safety. I gave her up to my eldest brother and his wife. I thought they would be happy to have a child since Venetia couldn't have children. It turns out Aurelius only took Clove in because I was his little sister and for the potential the child could have. "

I stare at Enobaria as she tells her story. It did make sense. Enobaria cared for Clove so much. She had made me promise to make sure Clove survived and won the games. Her actions and desperation weren't only because Clove was supposedly her niece. No, there had been more to Enobaria's reasons for wanting Clove alive. Clove was her daughter.

"Does Clove know?" I ask.

"Of course not, and she can never know." Enobaria says. "She will hate me for lying and giving her up."

"She has a right to know." I say quietly knowing I really have no say in her decision because Clove, despite being treated with indifference by her supposedly parents, she had been safer.

"No," Enobaria says fiercely. "You can never tell her. Promise me boy! Promise you'll never tell Clove!"

I have never kept anything from Clove. From the very beginning of our friendship and later relationship, we have always been honest with each other, so I felt uncomfortable with Enobaria asking me to keep from a Clove such a big secret. I couldn't keep my little one who her real parents were. However, I knew it wasn't my place to tell Clove the story of her birth. Enobaria had to be the one to tell her, and she would know when the time came. I nod at Enobaria letting her know that I understood, and I wouldn't tell Clove.

"But I hope you will tell her someday," I cross my arms. "I think Clove will be happy to have you as a mother instead of Venetia. I know they used to fight a lot. Venetia didn't like me."

"I don't like you either," Enobaria laughs but then turns serious. "But I doubt she'll accept it. She won't forgive me for giving her up."

I shrug because in some ways, Enobaria is right. Clove won't accept easily that Enobaria lied to her, but she will be happier to know Venetia is not her real mother.

"May I see her?" I ask impatiently after a moment of silence.

Enobaria stops looking miserable and instead her face turns dismayed. "She doesn't want to see you." She says after a while.

"What?" I practically shout once I'm over the shock. "Is this a joke? Because I don't find it funny."

"No joke." Enobaria responds sadly. "I thought Brutus might have told you since it seems he can't keep his mouth shut." I turn to look at Brutus who is intensely inspecting the ceiling.

"What's going on?" I ask Enobaria.

I am scared and hurt. Scared because if Clove doesn't really want to see me again, what am I going to do? I can't live without her. I simply don't exist without Clove. And of course I'm hurt that my little one has considered not seeing me again. What happened to everything we lived in the arena and before it? Whatever happened to forever? I start to shake in anger.

"What's going on?" I repeat more forceful this time.

"She's a wreck." Brutus speaks after being quiet for so long.

"What do you mean?" I frown.

"She's ashamed, I think." Enobaria replies with a frown of her own. "She said it was best if you two didn't see each other since you probably don't love her anymore. I think she feels like she showed weakness for breaking down after she killed Peeta. She doesn't want to know that you don't love her."

"That's ridiculous!" I shout in disbelief. "Have my actions not spoken of my eternal love for her? I have done nothing but show her how much I love her. I would die for her. Besides she's the strongest woman I have ever met. I knew it since the day I found her in the bathroom of the training center fighting her asthma. Hell, she killed a person she loved!"

"That's another thing I believe has Clove like this." Enobaria interrupts me. "She feels dead inside after killing someone she cared about. The other tributes, besides you, never got close enough to her like Peeta did. I think she would be like this if she had had to kill you back in the arena or worst."

I shake my head. "She can't blame herself for that." I sigh. "There was no other option. Peeta was going to die anyway, and he clearly didn't want to live without Katniss. This is ridiculous. I need to talk to her."

I make my way to the door, but Enobaria steps in front of me blocking the way. "Cato," she puts her hands on my shoulders. "She doesn't want to see you. I'm sorry." She pauses. "However, she will have to see you before the interviews and meeting with President Snow. We have to talk about what you two will say. You can talk then and hopefully things will go back to the way they were before." I nod hopeful.

My hope was short lived though. Soon we landed in the Capitol, and we were given the rest of the day to rest and recuperate. The next day, early in the morning I had breakfast with Brutus. He was quiet and drinking the entire time. He kept mumbling his life was coming to an end so soon. I didn't see Clove or Enobaria until seconds before the interview. I pace back and forth backstage as Brutus roars at an Avox girl to bring him more vodka. He is beginning to drink as much as the mentor of district 12, Haymitch who after his tributes died, has spent his days drinking and sleeping nonstop. I turn at the sound of footsteps and see Clove walking slowly towards me holding on to a cane. She looks at the ground as Enobaria talks to her, and Clove simply nods. Once again, my breath is taken away at the sight of Clove. She's wearing a strapless pink dress that stops above her knees. Her right arm is covered by a black lacy floral pattern stitched to the dress. Her hair is pulled in a low, side bun. I gape at her as she moves closer to me.

"Cato," Enobaria greets me, and I nod by way of response.

"Clove?" I stretch my hand out to her just as Caesar approaches us and grabs Clove by the hand.

"Come on," he beams. "We're on in sixty seconds." He pulls Clove along to the stage.

"Come on Cato," she grabs my hand and smiles sweetly like nothing has happened. Like she isn't thinking about leaving me.

Surprised, I follow but look back at Enobaria. She nods and mouths 'play along.' I sit next to Clove in a loveseat and take her hand. My jaw clenches and unclenches. I shouldn't have to pretend everything is ok. Everything should be ok. We're alive, and we're going home. I look at Clove as the crew fixes our microphones. The cameraman begins to count backwards, and I lean over and kiss Clove on the lips. I kiss her with anger and love mixed in with passion and longing. I can tell she's surprised, but her lips respond immediately to mine. The first thing the Capitol will see is us kissing. I pull back after a while and smile like an idiot. She isn't completely indifferent to me.

"Well, that's just lovely!" Caesar claps. "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the winners of the 74th Hunger Games, Clove and Cato!" People clap and I raise my hand intertwined with Clove's in the air. "So much love and passion in that kiss; I must say, save it for later my dears." He winks, and I laugh. "After that 'chaste' kiss, I must begin by telling you two how heartbroken I am that you kept from me your love." Caesar clutches his heart. "But now you're here, and you must tell us your story."

"Well," I chuckle. "To make a long story short, I met Clove when I was thirteen, and she was twelve at the training center of our district. I just saw her fighting off a girl twice her size, and I just fell in love with her right then and there." I look at Clove as I speak, and I see her smile timidly and blush.

"That's so sweet, "Caesar smiles. "How about you my dear Clove. Was it love at first sight for you as well?"

"No," Clove replies with a small laugh. "At first I thought he was a cocky prick, and I wanted nothing to do with him."

Caesar laughs. "Well when did you realize he wasn't a cocky prick?"

"He still is," Clove chuckles and looks adoringly at me. I smile sadly knowing she's playing this whole thing. She is telling the truth, but she is faking it all. I bet she's still thinking about leaving me. "But I realized he wasn't so bad when he helped through an asthma attack. After that, we became friends, and it didn't take long for me to fall for him too."

"Touching story," Caesar nods approvingly. "It seems your asthma brought you together before and during the games. Tell me Cato, how did you feel watching her suffer of those horrible attacks during the games and know she could die? Did it ever cross your mind to let her die of an attack so you wouldn't kill her later in the games or was it all part of your plan?"

I want to punch Caesar. I want to smash his skull against the wall. How dare he even suggest I would let Clove die or that I would use her? I take a deep breath; I can't screw this up.

"I felt terrible seeing her suffer like that. I didn't consider letting her die because I couldn't even imagine a world without her. I still can't, and I don't think I will." I say looking into Clove's eyes. She looks down and holds my hand tighter.

"Tragic," Caesar shakes his head. "But how were you going to win if you weren't going to kill her? I doubt you could see into the future and know the twist of this year's games."

"He was going to kill me," Clove interrupts because she knows I'm walking on thin ice. My response will bring up many promises I made. Technically, we had the games fixed, and the Capitol wasn't going to like that. "From the beginning we knew it was going to be the two of us standing, and we both wanted to win. It would have been a fair and interesting fight." Clove smiles tightly. "But we realized we couldn't live without the other. So we did what we did in the end."

"I see," Caesar gives a tight smile. He knows we are all in deep shit. He could get in trouble by continuing with the direction the conversation had just taken. "Love makes us weak and stupid." Clove and I nod. "Now onto more cheerful topics, let's see the highlights. I loved the way you used your first kill's own weapon to finish him off Clove!"

On the screen, we watch the replay of Clove's using the hammer on the boy to smash his skull. The rest of the interview, we talk about our kills and how we felt. Clove remained composed when they showed her killing Peeta. Her only response was that she had connected with him because both were suffering for love. At the end, I knew we had succeeded at convincing everyone that Clove and I had acted on love and impulse. Even I believed Clove loved me.

We are making out way to our floor still holding hands because photographers are following us. Once we step onto the elevator, Clove lets go of my hand and turns her face away. I feel empty without her hand in mine.

"Clove," I say fiercely as we step onto our floor. "We need to talk."

"We don't," she says holding on to her cane and going to her room. I follow after her, and Enobaria grabs my arm stopping me.

"Let her rest Cato," she says.

I shake her hand off and stalk off after Clove. Just as she's closing her door, I push it open, and she steps back surprised.

"Cato," she says angrily. "I said I don't want to talk. I don't want to see you."

I slam the door and lock it. "Are you sure?" I say through gritted teeth.

"Yes," her voice shakes. "I don't love you anymore."

"Bullshit!" I scream. "You kissed me back or was that part of the show?" I advance towards her and she steps back until the back of her knees hit the bed. "Tell me Clove, how much did you fake?" I push her on the bed.

"I didn't fake anything," she says quietly. "Enobaria told me I had to be honest to convince the Capitol and President Snow."

"Then you're lying now," I kneel in front of her. "You do love me, and you do want to see me."

"No," she pushes me. "I don't want to see you."

"Why?" I ask exasperated.

"Because you probably think I'm weak and you don't love me anymore." She looks away. "You said it yourself, you fell in love with me after watching me fight."

"You're not weak," I caress her cheek. "You're the strongest woman I have ever known. You're still fighting. You're fighting to keep us alive. You're fighting to stop loving me, but you can't. Our love is too great. Don't let it die. Come home. Come back to me where you belong."

I brush my lips against hers. Suddenly, she throws her arms around me and kisses me with passion and longing. I take her in my arms and make love to her all night long. She whispers my name over and over again, and I know my little one is finally home where she belongs: with me.

~ Clove ~

I thought Cato didn't love me anymore, and it killed me to think of my life without him. Throughout the interview, he showed me how in love he was, but I couldn't help but think that he was faking it all. I couldn't help but think that he was just trying to convince the Capitol and Snow that we were in love and that was the reason we had defied them. However, after the interview, he showed me he still loved me. I was still hurting over the events at the arena. I was still hurting over Peeta, and I had a long way to go to earn back my strength and confidence in myself. But Cato showed me the way home. He showed me where my place was in this world. I belonged with him, and he belonged with me. We were finally home.

I am finally learning to walk without the cane. It was a pain in the ass to have to use it, but my leg hadn't completely healed. I am walking around the house. Our house. I smile thinking of that. Cato and I had decided to share a house in the Victors Village. It made sense since we knew we were going to be sleeping together in one or the other's house. We might as well move in together. We still decided to keep the other house to maybe one day give it to one of our kids. I smile wider at the thought of having a family with Cato. I fix the violets on the vase by the front window. I look up and see a car pull up. My heart stops. It has the emblem of the Capitol. President Snow is here.

I run to the back door and out the house. I knock the living deadlights out of the door to Brutus' house. His wife opens the door.

"Clove," she shakes her head. "Darling we're not deaf…."

I push her aside and walk inside. "Cato," I call out with urgency. Soon he's by my side. One look at my face, and he understands why I'm here. He nods and takes my hand.

"It's going to be ok," he reassures me and kisses my forehead.

"Ok," I whisper.

He turns to look at Brutus. "Better get Enobaria," Brutus nods and goes over to the next house.

Cato and I make our way to our house hand in hand. Just as we are opening the door, Daisy, the maid, comes out and looks terrified at us.

"President Snow is waiting for you," she says quietly.

"Thank you Daisy," Cato says. "Where is he?"

"Living room sir," she steps aside and lets us through.

We walk into the living room and find President Snow drinking tea and looking quite comfortable.

"Please sit," he says as if this was his home. "How have you both been?" He asks pleasantly though I can see a hint of hatred in his cold eyes.

"Great," Cato answers standing behind me with his hands on my shoulders. "How are you sir?"

"Fantastic," he sets the tea cup on the table. "A bit occupied dealing with certain matters of the Capitol such as planning the Quarter Quell."

"Interesting," Cato responds. "To what do we owe the pleasure and honor of your visit?" Cato asks innocently.

"Just wanted to see how things with you two were," Snow shrugs and looks up as footsteps near us. "Oh here come Enobaria and Brutus, I assume."

Soon enough, Enobaria and Brutus enter the living room. Brutus takes a sit next to me while Enobaria stands next to Cato.

"President Snow," Brutus begins with a pleasant smile. "What a surprise to find you in District 2."

"Yes, yes," Snow responds impatiently. "We have covered what a pleasure it is to have me here. Now let's get on with things."

"What do you mean sir?" Enobaria asks.

"I want to know what your plans are," Snow stands up and circles the room. "The display of rebellion of these two," he motions to Cato and me. "Has caused some turmoil and disorder in the Capitol. I do not like disorder. I do not like to be crossed. What are you planning? A rebellion? You think you can take on the Capitol? You think you can take on me?" He roars, but he soon composes himself. "I can wipe out District 2 in the blink of an eye, but I don't want to. This district has always been loyal to me and the Capitol."

"We still are," Enobaria replies calmly. "Sir, these two acted on impulse. They were and still are so in love they couldn't even think straight. They didn't mean to anger you."

"Oh I'm not angry," he answers with a smile. "I'm not angry. I simply do not tolerate disobedience." He pauses and looks at me. "I hear you thought about leaving the boy."

"I was a wreck sir," I reply looking into his eyes and making myself look innocent. "I thought he didn't love me after how weak I had been in the arena. But our love was too strong. We are more in love than we were before."

"I see," he paces the room again. He looks lost deep in thought. "I need you two to swear loyalty to me and the Capitol."

"Of course," Cato replies.

"I'm not done." Snow stops in front of me. "She," he pauses, and I feel Cato's hands tighten on my shoulders. "She needs to get pregnant soon. You two will get married and live happily ever after." He looks at each and every one of us with a smile on his lips. His smile is not friendly. His smile conveys danger and promises future pain.

I want to speak up and say he can't dictate my life with Cato. He can't force me to get pregnant or marry Cato, even though I look forward to it. But I am simply fifteen and Cato is only sixteen. We're not ready for a commitment like that. I open my mouth, but Cato lets go of me and moves to stand in front of me. He ignores Snow and kneels in front of me.

"I wanted to do this on your birthday but now seems a good time as any," from his pocket, Cato pulls out a black velvet box. He opens it and inside is a beautiful ring. The ring band is surrounded by tiny pearls and in the center is a heart shaped diamond. "Clove Soto will you marry me and make me the luckiest man on Panem?"

"Marvelous!" Snow shouts. I look up at him. He's smiling delighted.

His eyes pierce my soul, and I feel like he knows how I feel. He knows I don't want to be pushed into marrying Cato and having children. He knows I don't take orders. I look at Cato. I want to say no because this is wrong. He shouldn't be asking me to marry him because Snow wants it this way. I look into his blue eyes and see that he loves me, and hell, I love him too. I know we are getting married anyway. We might as well get Snow to hop off of our backs.

I smile and bring his mouth to mine. "Yes," I laugh. "Yes! I will marry you!" Cato smiles widely and places the ring on my left hand. He grabs my face in his hands and kisses me.

"Thank you," he whispers against my lips.

Brutus and Enobaria clap. "Daisy!" Brutus shouts. "Bring some wine! Which one is your favorite sir?"

"Red," Snow replies with a tight smile on his lips. When we have our glasses of wine, Snow raises his glass in the air. "To the happy couple. I cannot wait to attend the wedding and soon see your home surrounded with children! Here's to happiness!" He drinks his wine as we nod to his toast. "Well, I must get going." He makes his way to the door but then stops. "Enobaria."

"Yes?" Enobaria steps up.

"You must be delighted that your daughter is a victor like you." He smiles and opens the door. "Oh and that she's getting married to this young man. A family of victors." He turns to look at me and winks.

He leaves after that. I turn to Enobaria. She looks at me pleadingly. Everyone is silent, and I take a deep breath.

"Well," I approach Enobaria. "We should get started on planning that wedding."

"Clove," she begins. "I'm sorry." Tears well up in her eyes.

"It's ok," I shrug. "Cato told me. I just wish you had told me instead of that asshole." I motion with my head to where Snow had just been. I hug Enobaria as she begins to cry. Deep inside, I think I knew I shared more things with Enobaria than with Venetia. This whole thing made sense.

"I'm going to kill you," Enobaria says out of nowhere as we're looking through a book of dresses with Daisy.

"Who? Me?" Cato asks from across the room. "As if." He snorts.

"I can't believe you told her!" She shouts. "After you promised."

"I didn't promise," he answers. "I just nodded. Besides I made today even better didn't I?"

"I'm still going to kill you," Enobaria laughs. "I'll rip your throat out with my bare teeth."

"Calm down," I chuckle. "I need him to make babies."

"Oh dear," Brutus shouts from the couch. "Keep that to yourselves will you?"

I stick my tongue out to him. We all laugh feeling better about the whole situation. President Snow was going to back off. Cato and I had done it. We both had made it home and soon, we would be married and have children. I look at Cato, and he looks at me.

"Forever," I mouth to him.

"Forever," he replies blowing me a kiss.

~ Three Years Later ~

"I'm pregnant," I tell my mother as she gives Alex another spoonful of pudding.

She looks back at me with a grin on her face. "Again?"

"What do you mean again?" I laugh. "This is my second child."

"Yes but Alex is only three, and you're barely nineteen." Despite her words, I can hear happiness in her voice. She hasn't been too happy since Seneca, my father, was executed. When Alex arrived, she swore he looked like him except for the blue eyes.

"Well, what can I say," I shrug. "Cato is a baby making machine."

"Oh dear," my mother shakes her head. "I wish you would really learn to keep that to yourself."

I roll my eyes and pick up Alex. I look out the window at Cato chatting away with Brutus about putting up a fence around the house for Alex's safety. Since he had learned to walk, Alex had the tendency to run wherever he pleased.

"Does he know?" My mother stands next to me by the window.

"Not yet," I smile. "You're the first one."

"Hmph," she grunts.

I chuckle at my mother's outrage at having been the second one to find out about Alex. I remember how happy Cato had been when I told him we were having a baby. He was even happier when Alex finally was born. Now, we had another bundle of joy on the way.

"Hey Cato," my mother pulls me out of my thoughts.

I turn around and find my handsome husband coming up to me and kissing me. "Enobaria," he greets my mother as he ruffles Alex's hair. "How's my little man?" He takes Alex in his arms.

"He's great," I wink at my mother. "He's really happy now that he's having a little brother or sister."

Silence settles in the room. Cato looks at me with wide eyes. I grab his hand and place it over my abdomen. "I'm pregnant." I smile widely. "Again." I repeat my mother's words.

Cato pulls me towards him and kisses me. "Thank you," he whispers. "For making me so happy once again. You're wonderful Clove."

"I know." I laugh.

"What's going on?" Brutus grunts as he walks in.

"Clove is pregnant," my mother answers because Cato and I are too busy kissing each other.

"Again?" Brutus throws his hands up in the air.

"What can I say," Cato replies without taking his eyes off of me and giving our son a kiss on the cheek. "I am a baby making machine."

I laugh as my mother and Brutus groan.

"I love you," I tell Cato. "I love you both." I kiss Alex on the head. "Forever."

"Forever." Cato agrees.

And forever it shall be.

**Eep! I enjoyed this. I don't know about y'all, but I enjoyed writing this. I want to marry Cato and have babies with him. LOL. Anyway, I hope I pleased y'all who wanted this continuation. (: As I said before, I have begun another story based on Alex and Pita. I will have more time to write since school is practically over and exams are a bunch of essays I can always bs, and, unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you look at it, I didn't get the job ): Should I keep going or let y'all live with the happiness of this ending? Let me know your thoughts in a review or PM! **


	10. Author's Note

**Author's Note:**

**Wow. Just wow. Y'all blow my mind with how wonderful and supportive y'all are. Hmm, I'm using "y'all" too much. It seems the country has gotten to me. Darn North Carolina! JK. Anyway, I just want to say y'all are amazing. I have been asked to keep going with the story. I think I just might. In fact, I already have chapter one all typed up and proof read. I just need to know how much y'all want to read the story. If there isn't much support, I might not do it. Ha! JK. I'll do it for the few of you who want to read more. I just wanted to add this note to thank y'all (dang it I need to stop). The story is up now for those of you interested in reading. The story is titled **The Ruler and The Killer**. Yes, I have named it after a song from the Hunger Games soundtrack. It only seemed fair plus, I think it's fitting. Anyway, rant complete. Oh no it's not. Thank you once again for reading and for showing so much love for my writing! You are all awesome! (Note: I didn't say y'all :D). **

**Love, **

**Country ass Momo (: **


	11. Dear Readers

** Dear Readers,**

** I still smile whenever I get an email letting me know this story has been added as your favorite or you all have reviewed. I still remember enjoying writing this story to the point where I couldn't sleep thinking how to continue it (you may call it obsession, I call it… well, obsession. Ha!) Anyway, I just wanted to once again thank you for reading, favoring, and reviewing **Secret Lovers**. **

** I also wanted to write this note to let you all know I'm working on another Hunger Games based fanfic. Well, it is more like a collection of short stories and one shots/scenes with the original characters of The Hunger Games trilogy and my own stories (**Secret Lovers **and **The Killer and The Ruler**). I remember someone on here suggesting I write an Enobaria & Seneca fanfic. Well, I am on it! It will be a short story of one long chapter most likely. I'd like to let you all know that I will take requests of what y'all want to read about. I don't promise to make all requests work because my brain will run out of ideas (and my insecurity will sometimes convince me to not publish a story). I do promise to try really hard to make y'all happy. **

** Once again, thanks for reading and expect **On Fire: Stories from Panem **on Fanfic soon! Shoot me a PM or review if you like the idea. You may also send your requests. Thanks!**

** Love,**

** LittleRichelleMead.**


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